


Mercy, Our Mercy

by Bitchwitchery



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Characters of Color, Canon-Typical Violence, Complicated Relationships, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friends to Lovers to Enemies, M/M, Non-Canon Character of Color, Not-so-secret relationships, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationships, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Secret Relationships, Smut, Team Mother, Threesome - F/M/M, the ghosts of the men I loved still follow me, the lightest of bdsm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-07-22 12:32:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 65,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7439503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bitchwitchery/pseuds/Bitchwitchery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knew that Angela Ziegler was close with Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes, few ever knew how close.</p><p>Series of scenes building up to the fall of Overwatch and it's unexpected return through the relationships of Angela Ziegler, Jack Morrison, and Gabriel Reyes.<br/>Author's Note: Please read the clarifications in beginning notes.<br/>(On hiatus)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Strange Fumblings

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever, so I am a bit anxious.  
> This was mostly spurred on by the lack of fics about this ship.  
> Edit: Clarification that I want to get across. I believe that Solider 76 and Reaper are most likely in their 50s in the present time. Mercy is around the same age as them, however has been using her nanobiological technology to appear younger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I changed a few things/ updated knowledge about Overwatch worldbuilding.

Watchpoint Gibraltar: 

Angela yawned and looked over at the clock to her right. She cursed quietly, seeing how late it had become. She stood up from her chair and stretched. Remember to stand and stretch once in a while if you are sitting for long periods of time. She had told someone once; she should really take her own advice sometimes. She covered her mouth while she yawned, reaching over her chair to save her work and the articles she was in the middle of reading. She narrowed her eyes, feeling the sensation of being watched, more specifically, being ogled. She turned and looked back, already bristling. Her defenses at once dropped.

“Oh, Jack!” She chirped at the blond-hair, broad-shoulder man leaning at the med bay doorway. She walked over, a slight skip in her step that she couldn’t quite help. “When did you get in?” She embraced him warmly before looking him over. He was such a handsome man. 

“Just now, actually. I wanted to check in on you.” He smiled down at her. “Gabe wanted to get cleaned up and have a good night’s rest before coming around.” 

“How did you know I would be here…and awake?” 

“Hm, I believe you once said to me, “ He put on his best (worst) accent, “Be sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, which means you would probably be here…not sleeping.” 

“That was a terrible impression of me.” She hit his arm playfully but it was much like hitting a wall of meat. “Truly awful.” He laughed. She reached up and touched his chin. “Where is my clean shaven Jack?” 

“Heh, I guess I am due for a shave, Gabe said the same thing. Not a lot of free time to be cleaning up in a mirror out there on the field.” Angela raised an eyebrow, Jack picked up on that, his cheeks and ears reddening a bit. He cleared his throat. “Hm, so how has it been here? Holding down the fort?” 

“Patching up broken arms and legs here and there, reading articles, and trying to find a way to get better coffee here. Boiled sewer water, really.” She sighed and smiled at him, noticing he was fiddling with something behind his back. “Small…petty complaints. What’s that there?” 

“Gotcha something while we were out.” He said handing her a box. She took it gently and turned it over in her hands. She looked at the bright packaging.

“Twinkies…” She flipped it over to the side to the read the nutritional value. Jack put his hand over it. 

“Better not read that.” He chuckled. She shook her head and opened the box as Jack walked across the room and sat in her chair. He grimaced a bit, probably expecting something softer. She pulled out the plastic wrapped-pair of yellow sponge cake. “You know…back in 2012, the company that originally made Twinkies stopped and overnight most of the US stores were out of them. It was like for a good year, until a company in Mexico picked them up. Then in 2020, the Mexican company stopped making them.” Angela opened the packet. He was attempting to distract her, she wasn’t sure why. She pulled one out. “It, uh…wasn’t until recently that another company picked them up.” She took a bite: light, airy, cream-filled…100% sugar. “Gabe…and I shared a box between us. And I thought, the good doctor probably wouldn’t mind them either.” 

“I like how you become encyclopedia when you are nervous, Jack.” Angela said, licking cream off one of her fingers. This would go really well with a nice cup of coffee, she sighed. Terrible indulgences.  
She leaned against her desk, putting the box down to her left. There was little space between them now. “It’s very endearing.” His face flushed again, easy to read on his light skin. She took out the second yellow cake from the plastic wrapping and put it to her lips. She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. She attempted to hide the smirk tugging at the corner of her lips by taking a large bite out the cake, cream left on her lips. She liked making him blush. She wanted to do more than that. “These are very good, very bad!” She laughed, popping the rest in her mouth, wagging a finger at him as she play-scolded him. “But very good.” He laughed too, the tops of his ears still red with blush. She smiled. 

“You got a little…” He started, pointing to his lip. She smeared it off her bottom lip with her thumb. 

“Thank you, Jack. For the gift. I’ll try to space them out, make them last longer, yes?” 

“Of course.” He nodded before clearing his throat. “Uhm…I’m going to go get washed up. Also, uh, do also thank Gabe when he comes through. It was…also from him.” He got up and straightened himself out.

“I’m truly lucky. A gift from my two favorite boys.” She got up to walk him to the med bay door. “I’ll see you again right? You aren’t leaving for some time, yet?” 

“We’ll be heading back out in a week or two.” 

“A shame. I do miss you both.” 

“We miss you too, Angela.” He said this with a little edge of sadness in his voice. Angela paused before touching his shoulder and giving it gentle squeeze. 

“Well…we’ll have to do something while you are here. Maybe we can have a nice meal.” 

“That would be nice, Angela.” 

“I think so too. But I better bid you goodnight, we can talk tomorrow.” 

“Goodnight…don’t stay up too late.” He said, starting down the hall. 

“Goodnight.” She said. “You too, Jack.” She slipped in. He waved his hand at her, still walking away down the dark, clean halls. She watched him go, unable to not look at his shape. She hung up the “Med Bay Closed. True Emergencies Only. Ring Bell” sign before sliding the door closed and locking it. She put the box of leftover Twinkies into one of her desk’s drawers and turned off the desk lamp. 

\------  
It was sometime right after dawn that Angela stirred in her bed. The sky was turning from dark, dark blue to that light greyish-blue tinged with pink of the coming day. She turned over away from the window, pulling the covers over her head, remembering that her white sheets did little for blocking light. After a moment she turned on her stomach, she just wanted a few more moments of sleep. Her brain was already ticking away, thinking about the nanobiology articles she read last night. She reached from beneath the blankets and searched the bedside table for her notepad. She grabbed it after almost knocking over her glass of water from last night and pulled it into the comforter cave. She started writing down some of the ideas bubbling up in her brain. Her handwriting was tired and loopy rather than her usual neatness; probably only legible to her at that point. Her notes were a mix of English and German changing sometimes midsentence. After finishing that, she pushed the pen and paper aside to edge of the bed and dropped back down into the goose-down pillow. Her mind began to wander; sleepily reaching off to those often shoved aside places. 

She turned over on her back again, still completely covered by the covers. As her mind wandered, so too did her hand. After a few lazy attempts at ignoring her baser urges she let it continue down it’s path. It ran over her breasts, giving one a light squeeze before running down across her stomach, softer on the sides near her hips, tighter in the middle. Her finger tips grazed the edge of her light blue underwear. Masturbation is healthy; she thought in her most doctor sounding voice, which at once started killing the mood. 

“No…wait…wait…” She whispered, pulling it back. She closed her eyes and licked her lips, her fingers taping along her stomach. Her mind began to wander again, snake back to when first heard Gabe and Jack, together. She felt like a voyeur. Gods, was she a voyeur?! Oh, shut up, shut up. _Stille und lassen Sie mich kommen, she hissed to herself._

-

_It had been a few months ago, one of the first times she had come to the Watchpoint for one of her longer stays from Zurich. She had gone to clean up in women’s locker room, wash her hands and wet her face after her tiring trip. She yawned and tied her mass of bright,curly blond hair up out of her face, tucking her longer bangs behind her ear. She heard something slam on the opposite wall, followed by hushed voiced. She tucked the loose strand back again behind her ear and turned her head to the wall._

_“Shit…Gabe, be careful.” That was Jack’s voice. “I aint a ragdoll.”_

_“Shh.” That was Gabe, his voice a bit rougher. “Could have fooled me, Jack, being as flexible as you are.” Angela felt her hand cover her mouth instinctively, warmth growing in the pit of her stomach._

_“Fuck, this better not bruise weird.”_

_“They’ll be too busy asking about all these other weird bruises, hombre.”_

_“Gabe, nothing too hi-“ Jack’s voice trailed off into a stifled moan. “Y-you really are the worst.”_

_“I-I can’t have you moaning like that…” His voice wasn’t mean. It was soft and gentle, wanting. “God, Jack.”_

_“H-hurry up, I d-don’t know when Angela is coming in.”_

_“Shit…you didn’t check the Comm Desk?”_

_“I did…I did…hhn…Gabe, you fucking tease.” His voice became muffled again, mid-moan. There was a loud beep._

_“Hey Comm Desk, this is Reyes. I need to know when Dr. Ziegler is coming in.” There was a beat. “She’s already here? Alright. Thank you very much.” Another loud beep. “Jack, fuckin…hey, don’t lick my hand.”_

_“What, do you think I’m gonna moan right as you get on the line?”_

_“Yes, Morrison.”_

_“Jesus, one time…Angela…can handle herself for…5 minutes…”_

_“Five minutes, Jack. Hell no…” Gabe’s voice was closer to the wall now. “I’m gonna fuck you good and hard, right here.” Jack was panting, throaty and desperate. Angela felt like she was now one with the wall she was so damn close to it. “First, you’re gonna suck my dick.” She felt the heat drop down into the pit of her stomach, expanding across her lower half. God this was so low and so wrong but she couldn’t move. “Get on your knees, take off that shirt. Take off my pants…slowly…” There was silence for a moment. Angela had to remind herself to breath, but slowly. Oh god, she just realized how wet she was. This was so wrong, she kept telling herself, finding herself still unable to leave. “Slow down, silly slut.” She could hear Jack coughing a little. “Hey…hey, you okay?” She could hear talking but it was too muffled. She heard Gabe chuckle, that warm and gravely chuckle that only friends…and lovers got to hear. “Jack, this place is pretty damn empty right now. I think we are gonna be okay…we can take our time for once. Like you said Angela can take care of herself….”_

_Angela could take of herself, she thought, her hands gripping her khaki pencil skirt, lifting it up slowly against her tan stockings. She slipped her hand underneath the stockings and white boy short underwear, feeling warm and blissful. Fucked up, Angela._

_“Little bit slower now, mi dulce.” Gabe murmured very softly. Angela bit her lip, leaning against the tiled walls for support. Gabe moaned but was quiet about it, mostly sticking to calling Jack various titles of affection in Spanish. She could hear him putting his weight against the lockers. The terms of affection became a little rougher now, mixed with titles of sweetness. “Stop…stop…we are not done yet…” Angela was not sure what was happening on the other side of the wall but she could feel herself getting closer. Lucky for her, she could go a few more times around if she so felt like it. Her nipples were hard against she thin bra and shirt, she used her other hand to jostle one at a time. She could her another clank, against the lockers. She could hear Jack panting, whimpering, and trying not to moan any louder._

_“Gabe…take a picture it will…last longer.”_

_“Haha, don’t fucking tempt me. Just admiring your ass.” Gabe said as there was a smacking noise and a breathy groan from Jack. “Maybe a few more.”_

_“G-gabe, I need to…be able to sit.” There was a sigh._

_“Alright, alright…”There was heavy panting, as the lockers creaked a bit. Jack’s moans were once again muffled, covered by Gabe’s hand, growing louder than before. Gabe no longer bothered with English, lapsing into Spanish completely. Angela could hear the locker give and take with the weight of the two men in a slow rhythm. Angela bit her knuckles as she came, melting as the heat spread throughout her body like a shooting star. She went into the stall and grabbed some toilet paper; wiping her hand before fixing her skirt and stockings in the mirror. She took a deep breath and left the locker room, quickly and quietly._

\---

Angela opened her eyes slowly as she pulled her hand from her underwear. Wet, messy, warm. The heat left her quick though, leaving her feeling lewd and self-conscious. _Das ist das Schlimmste, ich bin das Schlimmste!_ She sat up at once and threw her blankets off her. She looked out the large window out looking the high cliffside of Gibraltar, the spray of the waves crashing against the rocks reaching up against the now light blue sky. What a way to start the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stille und lassen Sie mich kommen = Silence and let me come.  
> (When first writing this I wanted to say, "Shut up and let me get my rocks off" but google translate offered in various ways/translated in English, "Shut up and let me climb my cliff").  
> Mi dulce= my sweet.  
> Das ist das Schlimmste , bin ich das Schlimmste = That is the worst, I am the worst. 
> 
> (Thanks to google translate)


	2. dumme  Schulerin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela confesses what she knows about Gabriel and Jack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains mature/ explicit content near the middle to the end of the chapter . 
> 
>  
> 
> Translations at the end.

Jack and Gabriel showed up sometime in the late afternoon, Jack apologizing since they had been in debriefing pretty much the entire day while Gabriel was embraced by the Swiss doctor. He rolled his eyes and hugged her back but gave her a small squeeze. She stepped back taking his warm brown hands in hers and looking over him. 

“Two eyes, one nose, one mouth…both ears too. All ten fingers. Good. A clean bill of health, Reyes, how do you do it?” 

“Smoking…” 

“Oh, you’re terrible. Terrible indulgences.”

“I tell him…” Jack added. Gabriel gave him a look but smirked back at Angela.

“It’s like you never leave us with the parrot over here.” Jack shook his head with a sigh. “Do you give him treats for him to stay on my ass like that?” 

“Oh, maybe he has vested interest in keeping you alive, Gabriel?” Angela tutted, realizing she still holding his hands. She released one and took one of Jack’s and pulled them both in for a hug. She was smaller than both of them, so the two men bent down a little for her to get a good hold on them. “I missed you both, I think about you all the time.” She patted their cheeks. Jack was clean-shaven once more, Gabriel not so much. She released them and smoothed out her shirt. “Oh yes, thank you for the gift. They are very tasty.” 

“You ate them all, already?” Gabriel asked, there was a slight tone of surprise in his voice. 

“No, no, goodness no.” Angela waved her hands in front of her. “I just had one of the packages.” She pointed to the desk drawer. 

“Good.” Gabriel said, walking over and opening it up. He took one from the box.

“Gabe, what the hell?” Jack began. 

“You know Angela is not gonna eat all of these, Jack. Overwatch will shutter its doors before Angela finishes these. Abuela Angela is gonna be in her rocking chair, suddenly remember the damn Twinkies she left behind in Gibraltar.” He explained, opening the package and eating one. “Also I know you took the last package from our box, gordo.” He pointed at Jack. Jack raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Might of…yeah. You’re still an asshole, Reyes.” 

“It’s okay, really. I don’t think I would have been able to finish them myself. You can take another if you want.” 

“It was your gift, Angela.” Jack sighed. 

“I am honestly just happy that you are both here, alright, with me.” Angela replied. Gabriel threw a package at Jack’s broad chest. He caught it gingerly. 

“You heard her, eat up.”  
\-----

“Angela, do you ever take the advice that you give your patients?” Gabriel asked sitting in a chair turned backwards. Angela put her pencil to her mouth in thought. She had closed down the med bay early, hanging up the sign on the door and closing the blinds that faced inwards to the base. 

“Hmm…depends on what it is?

“Caffeine?”

“I do drink coffee. But soda is…terrible. So…I have one a month.” She stated proudly. He laughed but it was more of gravely bark. 

“Drugs?” 

“You know my answer to that, Gabe.” She replied. He laughed again, little lower this time.

“What about the stuff that turns you into super soldiers?” 

“…Grey areas, Gabe. Very grey…” 

“Alcohol?” 

“I only drink with Reinhardt. So…3 to 4 times a year. ” 

“Me too. However, his voice is so loud it kind has left a permanent impression on my brain. So I’m always drinking with Reinhardt.” Angela laughed now, covering her mouth some and shaking her head. Gabe turns the rolling chair around and looks back Jack lightly snoring in the chair that Angela brought out from her room. “He is fucking out. It’s not even one yet.” 

“Gabe you’re exhausted too. You’ve been closing your eyes while talking to me.” He sighed turning his head a little bit, his curls bounced to the side. 

“Nah…I’m good. Let’s make some coffee.” 

“The coffee here is shit.” Angela said seriously. 

“Fuck...that’s right.” He sighed, leaning forward and swinging his leg around. He stood and stretched. “Well, just put a pound of sugar in it.” 

“I don’t think the fanciest creamer could make that garbage water taste good, Gabe.” He shrugged in response. He headed back to the doorway of her room. “Gabe wait…”

“Shit, Angela, you’re messy.” He smirked back at her as she got out of her chair. “Nice set up you got back here, though.” She got up and followed him into her private quarters behind the med bay. 

“It’s not really…okay, it’s bad.” She sighed picking up her clothes off the floor. He was admiring her kitchenette in the corner of her room. She dumped the clothing unceremoniously into the laundry basket near her closet. “It is rather nice. I wasn’t expecting this when I arrived.” She opened up the cabinet above her head, bringing down two white mugs and the bag of unopened coffee. Gabe filled the coffee pot with water only a third of the way. 

“A little old fashioned though.” He added quietly. She laughed. 

“Expenses have to be cut somewhere, Gabe.” She hummed. She brought out the sugar and creamer from the mini fridge. Gabe gave her a look. “Lasts longer, don’t have to worry about bugs.” He shook his head as he opened the bag of coffee grounds. He sniffed it and pulled back at once. 

“Mierda!” He hissed. She shook her head, chuckling. 

“I warned you.” 

“Right, right. We can make this work.” He rubbed his rough hands together. Angela found herself looking over him. He was muscular, broad-shouldered like Jack, narrower at the waist. His similarities to Jack ended there; below the belt, Gabe was curvaceous. Angela hated to admit that she ogled the man upon the first time she met him. Her gaze shifted quickly to the percolating coffee pot before clearing her throat and turning again to look at him.

“You and Jack can stay the night. If you wish, I mean he’s already quite asleep. But…the invitation is there.” Her fingers tapped the counter of the kitchenette. He lifted an bushy eyebrow in response. “I mean, I don’t want anyone falling down the stairs because you are both so tired. And I know those bunks are rather hard to sleep on.”

“I’m a big boy, Angela.” He said, smiling. “I can carry Donny Do-Right here down some stairs, no problem.” 

“Of course.” She replied. Her heart betrayed her as it dropped a little. Lord, what was she even trying to accomplish? It seemed too that her face gave her away. She yawned quickly, covering her mouth to hide her emotions. She closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the coffeemaker bubble. Idiot. She felt a heaviness against her, an arm around her waist. She felt the roughness of his beard against the side of her head, his warm breath against her ear. _Und Gott, nimm mich jetzt._

“Dr. Ziegler, are you asking me to bed?” He asked. Angela’s breath hitched in her chest as she looked up at his face. Straight forward as ever. 

“I…well…” She said, “I…I’m.” 

“Eres lindo cuando eres tímido.” He murmured still in her ear. 

“I’m not shy!” She said quickly to him, putting her hand on his chest and slipping out of his grasp, taking a good step away from him. . “I will have you know I know exactly what I want…and I’m not at all shy about it.” He now had an amused look on his face as she reflexively smoothed her shirt. “I just…was thinking about...” She looked up at him, he was smiling now. “Don’t laugh!” He began chuckling like before when he was with Jack. With Jack. “Gabriel, what did I just say!” She could feel her face reddening. “I just wanted you…you both to feel at home.” She crossed her arms under her chest and looked down. She could feel him walking over to her, his steps heavy in those military-grade boots. He placed his hands on her arms and she felt very small in his embrace. He rested his chin on the top of her golden head. 

“Angela…always looking out for us, huh.” He murmured. “Sorry, about what I said. It was a little uhm…assumptive and assertive...little arrogant.” She hugged him back and they were silent for some time. She carefully compiled this memory into her brain. His smell, his feel, the rhythm which he breathed were quickly collected. “I think the coffee is ready,mi pequeña .” 

“I’m not that small.” She murmured as he walked back over to the kitchenette, her cheeks reddening again. He poured the creamer in the mug first, followed by three hefty spoonfuls of sugar. “My goodness.”

“Shh, don’t question my methods.” He poured the coffee in, his face a slight grimace. 

“I’m surprised you aren’t drinking it black.” 

“Why’s that?”

“Because you are so metal.” 

“Angela. ” He groaned, taking a sip. “Yee…yeah, that’ll do. Besides…Jack is the one who drinks his coffee black. I’ll make yours like mine, alright? It’s bearable.” She nodded, sitting on her bed. He brought her mug over to her and sat next to her. She took a sip. Okay, it wasn’t terrible. “And?” 

“Very good…I probably won’t sleep tonight but it’s much better than usual.” She patted his cheek gently. They drank in silence for a little bit, Angela watching Gabe’s eyes checking in on Jack every so often. “Gabe…remember when I first came here from Zurich, it was my first long stay before heading back out on the field with the newest Valkyrie model. Where I was trying to better the nanobiological uses with healing, make it more efficient. ” 

“Mh, yeah.” He nodded, the mug between his hands. 

“I went around the place, I just…wanted to see it for myself. So after that I went to the ladies’ locker room to clean up. Wash my face and hands, wake up a little.” 

“Yeah?” He asked, looking like he was about to ask what the point of this little story was. He took a sip.

“…I heard you and Jack in the men’s locker room.” Angela whispered. Gabe started coughing, swallowing wrong. 

“What!?” He croaked, coughing as she slapped his back. “H-holy shit…” She got up and got some water for him from the mini fridge, nearly jogging back to him. She handed him the glass and continued to pat his back until the coughing subsided. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“About…hearing us or your bad timing?” 

“I… both. Both…” She repeated quietly. Gabe looked at her, sipping the water. Her face was beet-red, she could feel it. “I…Ich blieb und hörte man. Ich hatte gehort,alles. Oh mein Gott, es tut mir leid. Ich habe alles gehört.” She took his glass from his hand and took a long drink. “ Als ob ich bin eine dumme Schulerin! Es tut mir so leid! Aber…es war so gut. Wie sehr, sehr gut.” She continued to ramble in German.

“Angela, Angela, Dr. Ziegler! Slow down. I think I got “oh my god, good, and everything” from that. Slower in English…” Gabe laughed a little, his voice still rough from coughing. She felt like she had transcended the color red at this point, she must have been glowing like a beacon of sin. 

“I heard everything, Gabe. I stayed and I listened like...a depraved voyeur! I’m so sorry. Oh god, I feel so bad.” She covered her face. “Ein schmutziger Voyuer! Ein Hure!” Gabe was also flushed with color but a ghost of smirk pulled at his lips. Angela looked down at her feet, her hands fidgeted nervously. She listened to him stand up from the bed, it creaking in its release; feeling his steps in her gut, resonant throughout her body. His fingers grazed along her neck before taking her chin and lifting her to face him.

“Aber es war so gut. Wie sehr,sehr gut.” He repeated. Her face lit up scarlet. He knew what she had said. “Wie gut war es? Haben Kralle Sie die Wande an?” He chuckled deeply, darkly against her ear. “Like a puta in heat.” He breathed deeply against her. “I didn’t know you were so dirty, Angela. Wollen Sie mir, Sie zu ficken?“

"Yes...ja, Bitte...Gott.“ She whispered as she unbuttoned her shirt right below her breasts, heaving in her thin lace bra. Gabriel grabbed her golden locks, turning her head and exposing her neck to him. He kissed from the left corner of her jawline down her throat before biting at the nook of her neck and shoulder, making her yelp and dig her fingers into his shoulder. He hitched up her skirt, bunching it at her waist.  
“Little…gentler please.” She huffed, exposing her neck more. He laughed against her throat but became gentler with his nips. “T-thank you.” His right hand released her hair and moved down to her chest; he reached into her shirt, into her bra and cupped her breast into his hand. She felt herself melt into his touch, softly swearing in German.

“Keep talking to me, Angela. I like it.” He muttered against her collarbone. “How much did you hear?” He began making kissing between her breasts, hearing her heart race. 

“I…I heard you…fucking Jack against the lockers.” She gasped as he slowly dropped down between her legs. She heard him chuckle. “W-what? What is it?” 

“Boy shorts…they’re cute.” Gabriel commented, she could feel him pulling down her stockings. He helped her step out of them and pushed them aside. “Keep talking.” Angela panted, trying to keep her head clear. He ran his fingers down her thighs. 

“You were both…fuck, Gabriel, you’re a tease. ” She shivered as his thumb pressed against her clit through her underwear, her hand running through his thick curls and grabbing handfuls of them. “You were…fucking him, so desperately. It was so nice. I wanted tha...” She bit her lip as she felt him begin to pull down her shorts. “Like…oh, fuck.” His tongue was against her lips, wetly wandering. She began to slip back into German. 

“Come back to me, Angela.” He took his tongue away and grasped her ass tightly. She tugged at his hair, aching for his mouth. 

“G-Gabe you’re the worst.” She closed her eyes. “I came t-to the thought of you both, hhn.” She rocked into his lips as he held on to her hips and ass. “Fucking like that, h-hard, rough. I wanted that. I wish I saw it.” He laughed against her clit and her eyes rolled back. “Fuck, the way you made him moan. Machen mich stöhnen!” She rocked against his mouth hard, wet and dripping. His rough hands grabbed her ass tightly pulling her close as she grasped at his hair and shoulders. “I’ve…honestly, I’ve come-hhn-come many times to it.” 

“How many times?” Jack’s voice asked from the door way where he remained. They both jumped a little. Angela noticed his eyes seemed to skirt around her half-naked visage, looking down. She released Gabe’s hair, beginning to feel her blush grow over her body. 

“You really do sleep like the fucking dead.” Gabe said turning from her and wiping his lips. He looked up at her, as her hands instinctively going to her blouse and re-buttoning it. “Yes…I’m curious too, honestly.” His hand took hers, stopping her as he winked. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion but she stopped. His mouth pressed against her lips again, rougher this time, pushing deeper. A moan tumbled out of her mouth too quick for her cover up. “Reyes…” She hissed, digging her nails hard into his shoulders. He continued, seeming spurred on by her nails. “J-just this morning.” She gasped, closing her eyes. “S-sometimes, once a week. Ich bin nahe. So ganz in der Nähe .” She could hear Jack’s footsteps beside her, his hand touching her upper arm. His cologne wrapped around her as he walked behind her. His hands slid on to the sides of her stomach, right above her hips. She leaned back against his chest, feeling her legs begin to buckle. Hands, hands everywhere; holding her up, edging her further, her skin sensitive and begging for more. Jack was at her neck, her breasts cupped now in his hands,released from her bra. Gabe pulled away to breathe and she cried out, attempting to pull him back. Oh god, he had such a look in his eye.  
“Nein, nein…finish this meal.” She begged. She could feel Jack hard against the small of her back, his cock still caged in his pants, his breath strained as he marked up the left side of her neck with hickies. She reached up and grasped a handful on her blond hair, pulling his lips to her shoulder. Gabriel was fooling around, on purpose; drawing her out even as she felt like would combust. She whimpered when his lips touched her clit, rocking again his tongue as it pushed deeper. But then he would pull away again and focus his lips to her inner thighs, marking them up like her neck. Her legs trembled; she couldn’t see his face but she knew he was smirking. “ Sie geil Unhold.” She panted,” lassen Sie mich kommen, ich bitte Sie.” 

“I love when you yell at me in German.” He looked up at her, smiling with his dark eyes alit. 

“She’s begging, Gabe.” Jack murmured as he kissed her cheek. She raised her right leg slowly, her bare foot running along Reyes’ thick thigh before pressing against his hard cock still confined in his pants. He grunted as Angela could feel him shiver, grasping her thighs. “She’s got you there.” The other man groaned, pushing against her once more, his mouth and tongue hot on her clit. She whimpered, feeling like she was melting into him, her toes twisting, pressing against Gabe’s dick. Jack held her up as she finally came, shivering and whimpering against him. Gabriel leaned back, his hands placed on his thighs, panting but smiling as Angela panted in Jack’s arms, glowing. Jack leaned his nose against the nape of her neck, his breath running down her back. 

“T-that…that was wonderful.” She finally said, finally gaining her composure. She was partly dressed but safe, comforted. Her skirt hitched up half-haphazardly, boy short underwear around one ankle, her breast out of her shirt. She felt like she had been cracked open for them both, at her request. “Thank you…danke.”Her fingers traced down the front of Gabriel’s shirt before grasping him firmly, feeling his cock twitch in her hand as his breath became shaky. “But I don’t think we are done, meine süße Jungs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Und Gott, nimm mich jetzt.= And God, take me now. 
> 
> Eres lindo cuando eres tímido.= You're cute when you're shy. 
> 
> mi pequeña = my small/little one
> 
> I…Ich blieb und hörte man. Ich hatte gehort,alles. = I stayed and heard. I had heard everything. 
> 
> Oh mein Gott, es tut mir leid. Ich habe alles gehört. = Oh my god, I am sorry. I've heard everything. 
> 
> Als ob ich bin eine dumme Schulerin! Es tut mir so leid! Aber…es war so gut. Wie sehr, sehr gut. = As if I'm a silly schoolgirl! I am so sorry! But ... it was so good. How very, very good.
> 
> Ein schmutziger Voyuer! Ein Hure! = A dirty voyeur! A whore/slut!
> 
> Wie gut war es?= How good was it? 
> 
> Haben Kralle Sie die Wände an? = (sorry super rough translation) Did you claw at the walls? 
> 
> Wollen Sie mir, Sie zu ficken? = Do you want me to fuck you? 
> 
> ja, bitte, gott= yes, please, god. 
> 
> Machen mich stöhnen = Make me moan.
> 
> Ich bin nahe. So ganz in der Nähe= I am close. So close. 
> 
> Sie geil Unhold = You horny fiend. 
> 
> lassen Sie mich kommen, ich bitte Sie = let me come, I beg you. 
> 
> meine süße Jungs. = my sweet boys.


	3. Keep It Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue heavy. 
> 
> Translations at the end.

Hail Mary…full of Grace… thelordiswithyou.  
She flew to the scene of burning rubble littering the street. Screaming. Sirens. The smell of death, acrid to her noise. She gritted her teeth.  
Blessed are thee…  
Survivors reached out to her and the other first aid crew. She would be the last thing some of them would see. And she knew that.  
Blessed are…are thee…  
Her hands were covered in blood, staining the Caduceus Staff, hand prints on the cloth of the Valkyrie Suit. She appeared focused, professional, and posed. Her eyes however betrayed her, frantically looking…looking.  
Mother of God, help me.  
Help me find them. 

\---

“Are you religious, Angela?” Jack asked, shuffling cards before dealing them out on the tiny fold out table that took up too much room. They occupied a small space across from the shooting range near the edge of the base. Gabe came into the “room”, smelling of smoke. He sat down on the small chair, his knees hitting the underside of the table, shaking the table a little.

“Damn, can you keep it light?” He hissed. Jack looked at him, while dealing cards. “Deal me in.” 

“I…would say I’m not. No, not very.” 

“I’m kind of surprised, for someone who dresses like an angel.” Gabe commented, scooping up the cards off the table. He sucked his teeth a bit, unimpressed with the hand.

“Angels are something pretty international. For those who need rescuing…it can be calming. For the enemy, terrifying.” Gabe looked at her, opening his mouth to argue. “God only sends his angels to play out his wrath.” He closed his mouth and looked to Jack. Jack nodded.

“Do Omnics give a shit about that, though?” Gabe muttered. Angela shrugged.

“Omnics were created by humans…would they share the same the same fears?”

“This is why I said keep it light.” Gabe groaned.

“And those who are dying? Jack asked. Gabe looked at Jack like ‘what the fuck did I just say’. 

“They feel peace, I hope.” She looked at her cards, straightening them. “Angels of death often look ghastly in religious art but those they ascend with wear the expression of peace. If that is my job, which…unfortunately sometimes it is, I hope that I can help them pass on with ease. Jack, do you have any twos?” The two men stared at her as Jack handed her one of his cards. “Thanks. Gabe?” 

“Fish…”Gabe said. She pulled from the pile and frowned. “So… about all that?” 

“Oh, I…went to a year of divinity school before deciding that the medical and biotechnologies field was better for me.” She explained. “Gabe, it’s your turn.” 

“Jack, fours? How long have we known each other? You never mentioned that before.” Jack handed him a card quietly. “Thanks.”

“I…didn’t believe it was that important. I left that behind when the Crisis started. After…” She cleared her throat and pushed her hair back behind her right ear. “I believed I would be more help, doing what I am now.”

“Well, shit yeah. Of course.” Gabe laughed. “Any fours?”

“Yes, here.” She handed it over. “And you?” 

“Tch, let’s keep this light. We are going out tomorrow. We don’t need to talk about God and the Devil.” He shook his head, fixing his beanie. “I will be fantasizing about you in a nun’s outfit though.” Jack punched his arm while he laughed. 

“Angela, threes?” 

“Fish. And divinity school isn’t like that!” Gabriel shrugged, still smirking. 

“Damn.” Jack muttered, taking from the pile. He looked at Gabe staring back at him. “What?”

“Now I’m thinking about you in a nun’s outfit.” He put his hand on his chin, rubbing his beard. He nodded a little bit as Jack shook his head, his ears red. “Here’s a three for your troubles.” He winked. Jack punched his shoulder again, playfully now before putting down four threes. “Fuck you, Jack.” 

“Sixes, Gabe?” Angela asked, kicking his leg gently.

“Nah…fish.” 

“Why do you ask, Jack?” She asked as she pulled from the pile.

“Just curious, I suppose. I mean…I should know stuff about you right?” 

“Hah, I guess so. I was more expecting… my favorite color, ja?” 

“Since you are offering.” 

“My favorite colors are baby blue...and lavender. Are you religious, Jack?” She asked. Gabe looked at her over his cards and narrowed his eyes. “Since we are starting big…let’s go big?”

“A bit. I guess.” He cleared his throat. “I pray sometimes…I think everyone does in their own way. My great-grandfather was a preacher; I think he could talk the Devil into buying holy water. So I was raised with it. My favorite color is dark green.” 

“Baptist?” She asked. He nodded and looked to Gabe. Gabe groaned. 

“Catholic, non-practicing.” 

“Doesn’t stop the guilt though.” Angela stated. “Sixes, Jack?”

“ Hah, you too? Never.” Gabe shook his head. “And my favorite color is indigo.” 

“Thank you, Gabe.” Jack smiled. Gabe looked back at him and shook his head, fixing his beanie again. “No, go fish.”

“After this game, we should practice shooting.” 

“I don’t use guns.” Angela stated flatly as she returned to the pile. Gabe pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply. 

“Angela, tu me está matando ! You go out into the field, they don’t give a shit if you were just putting band aids on our knees, they will come for you. They don’t care! You need to protect yourself.” 

“Gabriel, I do not use guns. That is the end of the conversation. You cannot convince me otherwise.” His fingers drummed heavily on the table and chewed the inside of his cheek. “It’s your turn.” 

“Angela…”Jack cut in, leaning forward on to the table. “We would be…really, would appreciate if you had something to defend yourself.” 

“Jack, Gabriel, I handle myself. I have on countless other missions, all unarmed.” She tapped her cards on the table. She looked up at them, setting the cards down. Gabriel got up from the table, swearing under his breath and walked out of the small room, taking out his cigarettes. Angela crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back a bit, her left leg bouncing on the ball of her foot.

“Angela, I understand wanting to keep an ethical high ground in this. But, there is no way around the fact that moral fabric is not going to protect you from those who want to kill you. This is war.” Jack said as Angela busied herself putting away the cards. 

“I know how to defend myself without resorting to a gun.” She stated sharply.

“…alright…” Jack muttered, edge in his voice. “Get up. Come on.” Angela followed him out the door of the building. Gabriel was leaning against the wall smoking again, sucking the smoke out of the cigarette and turning it to ash fast. Other soldiers were off in the distance, training, sparing, and shooting. “Stand there.” Jack said, walking a little bit further from her. The sun was setting in the distance beyond the waves, coloring the surroundings bright orange and red. “Right. Get me down on the ground; hold me there for ten seconds and I’ll never bug you about weapons again. I won’t speak for Gabe, though.” 

“Obstinada…” Gabe hissed. Angela felt herself huff out her annoyance. 

“And if I don’t?” 

“You’re getting some kind of protection.”

“Alright…okay.” She widened her stance, her arms raised a bit. 

Gabe lit up another cigarette. Jack stood still. It felt like a long moment between them as Angela attempted to figure out how to get out of his way and bring him down. He gave her no warning and ran at her, hard. She dashed out of his way, cutting behind him. It would be easier if she was wearing the suit, she thought, she pushed off with a slight bend in her knee, bouncing off the balls of her feet. She rammed her elbow into his back which she was sure hurt her more than it hurt him. She kicked him in the back of the left knee and she could hear him swear as the knee reflexively buckled beneath him, taking him down one. He recovered quicker than she expected as he turned and grabbed her ankle, pulling her down on the hard ground as she caught herself.  
A small crowd and gathered a bit to watch. He grabbed her hands with one hand and held her there. “D-damnit.” He pointed a finger gun at her, realizing too late that he had released her legs. She rocked back as she could; bringing her knees up to her chest and kicking him back. She half somersaulted out of the way; her fatigues dirty with red dust. Jack panted, two dusty red shoe prints rested on either side of his upper chest. It was like bench-pressing a brick house. He ran at her again but she jumped to his left and grabbed his forearm, pulling down with all her weight to get him off balance. She let go when he pulled back on he but he corrected too quickly, grasping her around the waist with one arm. She tried to slip out of his hold, legs kicking. He brought her to the ground, not as hard as when he pulled her down by her leg. In a swift movement he grabbed and held down her arms as he pinned her legs under his knee. She was quite certain that he didn’t even break a sweat. She glowered at him as he released her a moment later. He laughed a little and helped her up. 

"Another round!" Someone had yelled from the small crowd. Jack shook his head and laughed before waving them away. There was playful jeering and booing as the crowd dispersed. 

“Alright...you need to be armed. In a matter of moments, without some kind of defense, you are in trouble. And that was unarmed.” She sighed, brushing the dust off her fatigues. “I understand how you feel, Angela, but I also want you alive. And don’t take as me saying that you are weak. You aren’t…you’re a clever fighter when the situation calls for it.” He smiled, patting her on the shoulder. It felt good, familiar and sweet. Jack looked over at Gabe, still standing over by the side of the building. His third cigarette, unlit, hung loose in his mouth. “You alright, Gabe?”

“Fight me, Morrison.” He said, throwing the cigarette at his feet. Jack laughed. Gabe tossed her his beanie to Angela and stepped barely a foot up to Jack. Angela held the beanie and stepped away from the two a bit. Jack ran his fingers through his hair and smiled at Gabe who raised his hands. They came to blows, fists flying fast as arms rise to block and dodge. Jack was swift, twisting to Gabriel’s heavy fisted blows. Was this flirting? She turned Gabriel’s beanie in her hand, fingers touching the thick stitch. She quietly stuffed it in her pocket, watching the choreography of the fight. Jack managed to slip out of the close flurry of fists, laughing as he did, side-stepping him. Gabriel twisted low and quick, banging his shoulder into Jack’s groin as he wrapped his arms around Jack’s thighs and lifted him over his shoulder. Jack swore loudly. “Come on, Angela.” 

“Damnit Reyes, you didn’t have to do me like that.” Jack groaned. “Put me down.” 

“Nah, come on, I think Jack injured himself, Angela.”  
\----  
How long had she been searching now; the Valkyrie Suit now stained red, her face and hair now stark and white from the still settling dust How many had survived….how many were left?  
Her professional veneer was beginning to splinter, tears welling in her eyes.  
Thelordiswiththee….  
There was so much din, but she could only hear her heart thudding through every inch of her.  
Even though…I walk through the valley. She walked through the ruins of the buildings, shoes clicking over the cement. She moved with The smell bringing her to her youth. Her mother’s face. The war was supposed to be done. This was supposed to be a thing of the past.  
From across the way there was another explosion, minor as it was, shaking the earth under her feet. She dropped down waiting for more. The first responders hunkered down with the survivors as the settled dust began to rise again. Overhead the transport ships hung in the air ominously. She stood again, looking around.  
“Angela…”  
She looked up, her body shook and her heart nearly stopped.  
EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF DEATH.  
She flew to him, wings spread wide, yelling for air transport in German, English, and Spanish as she dropped to his side. His lips shook, parting barely in ruined smile, attempting to raise his right arm to her. But it was gone, shredded. She felt the burning of bile in the back of her throat.  
“…you were right…you do look like an angel of death.”  
Mutter Gottes, Gabriel. She wept dryly as she worked to stop the bleeding. So much blood, so much gore. She yelled again, louder this time.  
Oh God, mein Gott.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tu me está matando = you are killing me.  
> obstinada= stubborn  
> mutter Gottess= mother of god


	4. Egypt: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of 4
> 
> Explicit scenes.  
> Translations at the end

Angela touched the wadded cotton patch with her fingertips as the Egyptian medic came and looked at her wound. The tent flaps whipped widely in the heated wind as sand sprayed inside. The Valkyrie armor sat by the bed,the pure white chest piece covered with dust, sand and blood, pierced and fractured. 

“So you are unarmed.” That was the question. More of a statement. The woman standing across from her narrowed her eyes and snorted. She had not taken her eyes off Angela since she was brought in. She was gorgeous. Gorgeous and angry. “Out here, in one of the worst…are you stupid?” 

“No, I have run countless missions as field medic without a weapon.” 

“Well it only takes one time for it be your last. Get a goddamn gun. Get that bullet out of her and heal her up. We need her out there even if she’s acting like a fool.” She stomped out of the tent. She said something in Arabic and the medic raised their eyebrows. They stuck in the tweezers and Angela turned away from the sight of it. She didn’t need to watch them digging around in there. _Are you stupid?_

“ You’re lucky, this could have caused more damage, a lot more damage.” 

“Please extract the bullet before you yourself do that damage?” Angela hissed, glaring at the entrance of the tent. In the distance, there was the sound of gunfire and explosions. It had been a rough couple of days in the field. She had several close calls but this time she hadn’t moved fast enough. She clicked her tongue. “Who was that?” 

“Captain Ana Amari.”

“Hm…” Angela murmured, remembering the name. “She’s very beautiful.” 

“…right. Got it…wait...oh it’s part of your armor. I’ll keep an eye for more of those.” The medic muttered. Angela flinched and pulled back. “Sorry, sorry.” They slowly took out several long, bloodied pieces of the armor that had entered her upper shoulder. They swore in Arabic before finally pulling out the bullet. She grimaced as they dropped it on the on the metal tray. “Alright, let’s start healing this up. It’s not going to be very pretty.” 

“I have my life, don’t I?” She asked. She then sighed, deeply. “I’m sorry…this pain medication is making me very agitated.” The medic nodded. “Gabriel is never, never going to let me hear the end of this.” The warm tingle of the beams put her at ease. 

“So…you created this technology?” The medic asked.

“Yes...” 

“Why are you out in the field then?” 

“It’s the right thing to do. Why are you here?”

“…right thing to do.” 

“Don’t worry…you’re doing fine.”

\-----  
It reminded her of a comet. She looked over the scar in the small mirror. The large knot of flesh was light brown thinning out into a reddish line, skin brought taut. The damage to her bones had already been rectified but she needed to stay put for a little while longer. She hated not being out on the front line and hated not being useful more. 

She began helping the medics that came in with the stream of wounded, even with her arm in a sling. She listened to her comm as she worked. The explosions had started lessen in the background as the bright day began to darken. Gunfire sounded more scattered, distant. 

“Haven’t seen Mercy in a bit.” She could hear Jack say into the line. “Lots of other field medics…not our Mercy.”

“The blonde, winged one?” She could hear a woman’s voice, Ana. 

“Yeah, has she been by your way?” 

“She’s in one of the medtents. I saw her fall. Got hit in the shoulder.” 

“Hijo de puta!” She heard Gabriel on the other line. “Le dije!” Angela turned off the comm quickly. She would never, ever hear the end of it. 

 

Night fell and the temperature dropped down low. The night air had become near silent, eerily so. Angela had moved out of the medtent and managed to slink into her tent after keeping an eye out for Jack or Gabriel. The mood was hesitantly jubilant; voices were hushed but the mouths speaking them were smiling. Angela took her arm out of the sling and checked its movement. Some pain still, very minor but there. In twelve hours, she would only have the scar to remember it by. She placed the Caduceus staff on its stand and opened up the long panel to get to the inner workings of it. Sand fell out on to the table and she swore as she got out the small tools in a leather pack.

Ana was at Angela’s tent’s entrance, sniper rifle strapped across her back. Angela felt her gaze before she spoke. 

“You turned off your comm.” She called in, sharply.

“I rather hear it in person.” Angela said, working on cleaning the Caduceus staff’s inner workings. That was a lie; she would rather not hear it all.

“I had to hear it for you.” 

“I’m sor-“ Angela began. 

“I know you are not stupid, clearly.” Ana interrupted. “Overwatch doesn’t call on idiots. But you have put your ethics over your life…which makes for stupid looking. I have brought you a blaster. It’s temporary but it serves its purpose. Aim and fire.” She walked beside her and handed it to Angela. “If you want to go back out there, you are taking that. Otherwise you are staying here. Are we at an understanding?” Angela held the blaster in her hand.

“Thank you…I’ll take it.” 

“Good. Keep your wits about you.” Amari said. turning a heel and heading out.

“How is it going out there?” Angela asked turning around. 

“Surprisingly…better than most days. I am sure it would be better with your assistance. Mhm…here comes the grumpy one.” She raised her eyebrows, letting Gabriel pass by her. Angela turned back around to the Caduceus. Gabe cleared his throat loudly. 

“…hello, Gabriel.” 

“I told you, you need to be armed out there.” 

“I still would have been wounded, gun or not. Am I right?”

“You could have retaliated, Angela.” He growled, she turned back and looked at him. He was glaring, cigarette in his mouth. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t give a damn.” 

“I don’t need to be lectured to, Gabriel.” 

“Don’t need to or don’t want to. I’m getting more of the sense it’s the latter.” She shook her head, blonde locks bouncing. She could hear him walking over, his weight leaning on the table. She looked up at him and took the cigarette from his mouth, smashing it out on the table as he sighed. “ I should be with the troops right now. I left that ra-ra shit to Morrison.” She closed the panel door of the Caduceus and put away the small tools. “Let me see it.” She sighed, unbuttoning her fatigues to the top of her chest and pulled down the collar to show him. He clicked his tongue and ran his forefinger along it. She pulled the collar back up as she flinched, the skin still new and the pain, though minor, was coming back. “It’s healing alright?” She nodded. “Listen, Jack just spoke with Torbjorn about getting you something. A blaster, something quick and easy. Something for defense.” She handed him the one that Amari gave to her. “I like that woman.” He smirked. His arm was around her waist, hand resting on her stomach.

“I’m sorry.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “You should be talking to the troops with Jack…I need to speak with the medical team before I get a few hours of sleep.” He took her hand in his. 

“We’ll practice shooting in the morning.” He leaned close and kissed her temple. “Good night, Ziegler."

\---

“Good morning, Dr. Ziegler.” Captain Amari said. “Coffee?” 

“Good morning…were you able to get some rest?” Angela said walking up to the other woman. Jack and Gabe were leaning against a large fallen pillar not far off, trying to wake up. She bent down and poured herself cup of coffee from the pot on the electric portable stove.

“ It’s been rather quiet since our push yesterday, so yes. I am waiting though.” Ana sipped from her cup. “Your shoulder?” 

“Much better. Thank you.” Angela nodded into her cup, blowing to cool it.

“Well, support has to watch the support.” She flipped her long black hair behind her. Angela could feel her insides warm before she even took a sip. “Here…” She lifted up several aged green bottles that sat next to the stove. They looked like they once held some now defunct carbonated beverage. She lined them up along a large white stone block. She returned to Angela’s side as Angela took out the blaster from her leather side holder. “Alright….safety.” She pointed to a small button on the side of the blaster; Angela pushed it in and heard a click. “ There are ten shots, when it is unloaded this cartridge pops back out.” She pointed to the bottom of the gun. “Push it back in, it will take a moment but it recharges the cartridge, alright? When there are no more charges it will simply fall out. Carrying two or three is what is recommended. Carry five.” Ana was right up behind her, her hands helping Angela’s get steady; she pushed Angela’s stance wider with her foot before stepping back. “Aim.” 

Angela’s finger twitched around the trigger. Angela licked her lips nervously as her eyes aligned the shot. 

“Fire.” 

She shot at the bottle, watching it miss by several inches, hitting the large white stones in the distance. Ana laughed a bit. 

“Well, it’s a first time for everything. Aim again.” She said, taking a sip of her coffee. Angela looked over at Jack and Gabe for a moment and saw that Jack had fallen asleep against Gabe’s shoulder. Gabe motioned for her to get back to it. 

“May I ask about you, Captain Amari?” Angela ventured as she fired off another shot, nicking the bottle and rocking it a bit. She gritted her teeth. 

“I suppose so.” The other woman said. “If I am allowed to do the same in return.” 

“Ja, of course.” Another firing, another miss. Angela clicked her tongue hard against the back of her front teeth. 

“What do you want to know?” She asked, stepping behind her again, fixing her stance. “Focus.” Angela narrowed her eyes, shooting again at the closest bottle. It shattered into a million glittering green pieces. 

“Ja, gut!”

“Good, don’t get cocky now.” 

“Nein, ich wurde nicht im Traum daran.” Angela lined up again, she paused. “I would never dream of it.” She translated quickly. Ana smirked. “The design under your eye?” 

“Wadjet.” 

“Wadjet?” Angela repeated, trying her tongue around the sound.

“The eye of Horus. Symbol of protection. Something from Egypt in its antiquity. We stand in its ruins now, as you know.” 

“It sounds very personal to you, thank you for telling me.” Angela said after a moment of hesitation. 

“No problem.” The other woman turned her head a bit. Angela nodded and got back to practicing. “My turn, Doctor.” 

“Yes?” She missed again, cursing lightly before rebalancing her position and weight. 

“To be honest…I didn’t expect to see you out here on the frontlines.” More of a statement, than question again. 

“Does it surprise you?” 

“May I speak freely?” 

“Of course, Captain.” 

“Reading about you, I had come under the idea you were a woman who stayed behind the scenes and let her technologies do the work for her out in the field. Academic…all clean, sterilized hospitals.” 

“I was advised to stay out of the field. That as a doctor of some standing,” Angela paused shaking out her recently healed shoulder, “I was better kept at a distance.” Angela murmured. “But…It is hard to create counter technologies, technologies to ease the pains of war, when locked up in an ivory tower.” She fired again, missing. “Scheißkerl.” 

\---

“This is my daughter, Fareeha.” Ana said as she removed a folded picture from her inner breast pocket. Angela gingerly took the picture from her and unfolded it. 

“She’s adorable. How old?” 

“Soon to be 11, she is very adamant about reminding me.” 

“She has your eyes, Captain.” 

“Ana is fine. And she gets that a lot.” Ana sighed, her eyes scanning the ruins around them, the medtents, and transport ships. “I do all this for her. Above all else.” She put the picture back away. “Alright, back to it.” 

Her aim was still something that she had to work on but for now, two out of five bottles would do. She watched Ana take out the last three. Green fragments reflected the light of sun in its slow ascent. The cool air of early morning slowly began to evaporate and Angela pulled the scarf around her neck to cover her head. Ana did the same, stroking her hair inside the cloth. Meanwhile, Gabriel was leaning against the pillar with his eyes closed while Jack slept on his shoulder. 

“Should we let them nap?” Angela asked. Ana shook her head a little as they walked up the sandy incline. Angela did want to take a picture of this small moment, something to hold on to.

“Practice drills start in 15.” Ana said loud enough for them to hear.

“Shit.” Gabe said, waking up at once. “Let’s go, Morrison.” He shook Jack and the other man groaned. 

“Good shooting, Angela.” Jack said as he loped after Gabriel. He mouthed to her quickly that he would see her later. Both women watched them leave. Angela couldn’t help the dumb smile that grew on her face. He had been asleep the whole time, barely held up by Gabe. But they both still showed up. She could give them credit for that. She took a large swig of the last of her coffee to hide her face, feeling the grit of sand; it was impossible for sand not to find its way into everything here. She wiped her teeth with her tongue. 

“I suppose I’m confused now.” Ana suddenly said looking at the blond haired woman from over the rim of her cup. Angela raised an eyebrow as she turned the safety on the blaster before sliding it into her new albeit temporary holster located on the small of her back. “Which one are you with?” 

Angela almost froze. Was it so apparent? 

“P-pardon?” She asked. Ana’s smile was hidden by her cup, but Angela could see it in her eyes. She jutted her chin the direction that Jack and Gabriel went. “Oh well…” 

“Both seemed very concerned for you yesterday, you know.” The woman touched her chin in thought. 

“I’ve just know them for a long time now.” Angela sidestepped the question. She could feel her face flush and it wasn’t from the rising temperature of the desert. From the city, an eerie noise rolled out into the dunes and through the ruins. “That’s the call to prayer?” 

“Yes, it is. If you’ll excuse me, Dr. Ziegler.” 

“Angela is fine. Mercy if you need something quicker.” 

“I’ll see you soon then, Angela.”  
\----  
_“Dr. Ziegler, what you are doing is dangerous, unprecedented! You can’t do this alone.” The older man yelled at her. She cradled Gabriel’s head while the nurses moved him body from gurney to operating table. Their hurried hands connecting breathing machines, I.Vs, heart monitors, and brain wave screens. She still stood in the Valkyrie, covered in blood, gore, and dust. She smelled of sweat and death._

_“I am trying to save a man’s life. So either you will help me or get out of my way.” She came at him, a nightmarish exaggeration of a woman. The doctor stumbled back and the nurses looked at her. She turned to them. “There are others that need your help more than I do. Please, go. Auf einmal!” The nurses nodded and ran back down the long corridor. The doctor straightened up._

_“I hope you know what you are getting into, Dr. Ziegler.”_

_“I wouldn’t be doing this if I haven’t already assessed the risks. Jetzt lassen Sie mich in Ruhe zu arbeiten.” She pressed a button and the glass doors closed on him. She went into the side room and removed the Valkyrie and stripped naked besides her underwear. She stepped into the sanitizer and closed her eyes as it sprayed her down from above and on the sides. She walked out of it into the pre-sanitized surgical smock and apron, tying them as she stuffed her feet into the boots provided. She pulled her hair back in a loose bun, stuffing it into a cap. She covered her mouth with the light blue mask and pulled a visor over her eyes. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment before re-cleaning her hands and shoving them into the disinfected glove dispenser. She looked at Gabriel’s vitals which were unstable at best. She checked everything, running over her mental checklist several times._

_“ Alright, T.X. , please lay out an anatomical scan of a healthy man. Please turn on the nanostream.” She watched as above in golden light the outline of man was sketched out in soft holographics. “Bring it down over the patient please. Danke.” She reached up and pulled the scanner head and long arm of the nanostream machine attached to the ceiling. “Patient is Gabriel Reyes.” The words stuck in her mouth, looking at the holoform complete the broken figure on the table. “Attempting restructure…rebuilding through use of nanobiological stream . Wir werden hier eine Weile zu sein.” She sat down on the chair, bringing the scanner head low to the mangled torso. “Lass uns anfängen.”_  
\---  
Angela ran the small palm-sized along Jack’s neck, bruises and hickies slowly fading from purple to light yellow as he sat on her cot. The day had been quiet but vigilance was still incredibly high. As promised, Jack did show up at her “door”.

“Christ, Jack.” She sighed. 

“You should see the other guy.” He chuckled. She did too as he rested his head against her chest. She ran her hands through his hair; in blond strands she could see a few silver ones. He had also developed a farmer’s tan after a few days of being in the Egyptian sun. 

“Where do you find the time?” 

“Uh…just have gotten real good at being quiet during evening hours.” She could feel him grin between her breasts. She raised an eyebrow and slowly shifted her thigh against his crotch. He let out a sharp gasp as she pressed him closer to her breasts. Still loud as ever. “Sorry, Morrison, this one seems pretty deep.” She stepped closer between his legs, putting the handheld stream behind him. She lifted his head up to look at her, holding his chin as she pushed her thigh against him. His lips parted, already begging. She held a finger up to his mouth, his breathing already shaky. She covered his mouth as she reached down and felt his length along his upper thigh before unzipping his pants. 

In the field, Jack was a leader that kept morale high, kept his team cohesive. In her hands and Gabe’s as well, he was putty. She slipped her hand, releasing him from them and his briefs. She looked behind her, checking the tent’s entrance way. All clear. _Gut, gut._ With her free hand she reached over and opened up on of the drawers with her bag inside. She dug around for a moment before pulling out a condom. She brought it close and checked the date before opening the package. She liked making him wait. He watched her impatiently, biting his lip while she slid it down over his cock. His lips parted again and small sound came out. She covered his mouth once more, checking the tent flaps. He needed a ballgag. Or a sock, Gabe once said. She began working her hand, the other busy keeping Jack as quiet as possible. She would pause every so often, checking with him. She had never done this, in all honesty. He nodded and when she slowed to make sure no one was coming near, he would push against her hand. His mouth against her palm, teeth and tongue and hot breath. 

Slobbering mess.

She pushed her thigh into him again, as she pumped him; his hands which had been grabbing at the thin sheets on top of the cot, now grabbed her hips, willing her forward. He whined, muffled, against her hand, unable to keep from rocking against her. She leaned to his ear. 

“Do you want to come?” She asked as he nodded desperately. His eyes begged as she worked him, slow and long and rhythmic as she ground her thigh into him. His breath was hot between her fingers, wet with his saliva.“…geifernd Schlampe…” She felt his breath hitch, clamping her hand down over his mouth tight as he moaned loudly into it. She spent a moment more working her fist around him, pushing him through it. His body tensed and released as she took her hand from his mouth, a long string of saliva followed her fingers. She kissed him before cleaning up, which felt more like hiding evidence. She washed her hands in the standing bowl of filled with soapy water, drying them off. She took care in zipping him back up as he kissed at her neck and pulled her close. “Shh shh, enough for one night.” She giggled. 

 

\---

Angela walked up the slight sandy incline to the edge of the ruins, wandering through some of the larger stones until she was at Gabe’s side. To their backs, the sun was setting, darkness reaching over the city like a mighty hand. Beyond some of the ruins, she could see Ana and a handful of the other Egyptian soldiers speaking. From the city, the call to prayer went out as the sun crawled down beyond the horizon. Angela glanced sideways up at Gabe, noticing he was armed, assigned to stand guard. His eyes were not on the small crowd before them, but up at the sky. She followed his gaze and stared at the large swath of inky purple-blue sky. 

“That’s my favorite color.” He murmured. It was beautiful. She could hear the prayers go up, led by Ana. Angela hand instinctively snaked around his arm, interlocking his arm with hers. She felt his weight shift toward her a little. He was warm and the warmth made her tired. She wanted to sleep between them again in a real bed. A fantasy she would have to cling to while out in the field. 

She closed her eyes, listening to the prayers. It reminded her of when her father took her to the synagogue at 11. _Wir müssen kämpfen, Angela. Das ist, was es bedeutet, ein Mensch zu sein._ Her brows knitted and her stomach ached suddenly. _Put that all away._ In her mind, she packed it into a box and shoved it under a metaphorical bed. She pulled her scarf closer around her head and neck, bringing part of it to cover her mouth. The last rays of sunlight released the city, like a long fingers lifting one by one and the temperature at once began drop. Gabe took his arm from hers before pulling her into his side, his hand sitting on her opposite hip. She could see that he had bowed his head a little. 

“Did you have something to tell me?” 

“Reinhardt is coming in tomorrow. Jack just got confirmation. You had your comm off.” Angela kept her voice low. 

“Alright, thanks.” He murmured. She started to slip off but he held her close. “Stay…” His voice was so soft. She looked up at him. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing…just, prayers…the sky the way it is. Thinking too much.” He pulled up the hood over his head, looking away but he held her closer. She watched his features, attempting to read him. She watched his jaw clench and unclench several times. His body was tense against her. 

“Hail Mary…” She whispered, not wishing to interrupt the other prayers, his eyes turning to her. “Full of grace.” His lips started moving too, whispered in soft Spanish. Like riding a bike, it never fully left one’s memory. They both whispered ‘amen’. They fell back into silence until the prayers ended. Ana remained seated a little longer than everyone else. He bent down, his smell engulfing her, as he gave her a small peck on her cheek before walking over to the scattering group to speak to with the other woman. 

\----

_Angela…we struggle. That is our duty in life. To be human, is to struggle. Against man, against nature, against machine, and yes, even the Divine. Question, ask of the Divine, what is my path, what is my fight? Know that even when you are righteous; to help your fallen kith and kin, harm might still come through these actions. But you push on, push on for righteousness. Angela, struggle with passion._

Angela woke up to a warm hand on her shoulder, her eyes blurry with tears. How long had she been asleep? She had been crying? _Who?_ She turned over and looked back at Ana. The other woman was holding a thermos, her hand still on Angela’s shoulder. Her golden eyes looking over the woman as she removed her hand slowly. 

“…It’s our shift for night watch. Come, let’s talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hijo de puta, le dije = son of a bitch, I told her.  
> Scheißkerl = motherfucker  
> Auf einmal! = At once!  
> Jetzt lassen Sie mich in Ruhe zu arbeiten. = now let me work in peace  
> Wir werden hier eine Weile zu sein.= We will be here for awhile.  
> Lass uns anfängen. = let's begin/start.  
> geifernd Schlampe= slobbering bitch  
> Wir müssen kämpfen... Das ist, was es bedeutet, ein Mensch zu sein.= We must fight... That's what it means to be human.


	5. Egypt: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, these chapters might take me a little bit longer because I am a little bit anxious writing action/military scenes.  
> Part 2 of 4
> 
> Translations at the end.

Ana stood on a large stone block, checking for movement from the Omnium hub through the scope of her sniper rifle. Angela checked with a pair of binoculars. The other woman clicked her tongue. 

“I don’t like this. I don’t like waiting.” She hopped down. “We need to get in there. The sooner, the better” Ana looked at Angela as she put down her binoculars around her neck. “How are you feeling?” 

“I’m fine, thank you.” Angela said, the older woman turned her back to the blonde, opening up the thermos. She had managed to call Angela a liar without saying a word. She was right however. 

“We have….three and a half hours or so. I will just listen if that’s what you would like.” She said, handing Angela the metal lid of the thermos that served as a cup. Angela took a sip, it was bitter and hot. Unaware she made a face, Ana laughed a little. “I don’t like them so sweet, is that alright?” Angela gulped the rest down before handing back the cup. The nights as always were cold, which didn’t bother Angela too much. She was used to that; however coming out from the warm tent, the breeze stung her face and arms. 

“T-thanks.” She coughed a little. Ana smiled, pouring herself a cup. She sipped slowly, expectantly watching the other woman. 

“I wasn’t aware you spoke Hebrew.” Ana stated. A question without the inflection. 

“…my father was Jewish.” Angela said slowly. “He taught me some…here and there. Prayers mostly.” There was a long silence between them. It was quiet night in the desert and one could hear parts of the city waking up with brave hesitance over the sandy hills. People’s lives started early even in the middle of a war. Ana packed up the thermos, stuffing it into her bag. She motioned for Angela to follow her.

“I take it you are non-practicing.” 

“My mother…wanted me raised Catholic. So I was. I’m non-practicing of that too.” Angela’s voice was quiet. “I guess…I watched the call to prayer, brought things up for me. I’m sorry, I didn’t really mean to watch like that.” Was she always such a terrible voyeur? 

“With the grumpy one?” Ana asked flatly. Angela chuckled at the nickname; it wasn’t going away anytime soon. Ana smirked at the woman as they turned to the right.

“I…” Angela began, her face flushing. 

“It’s my job to watch.” Ana explained. She pointed to the Wadjet. “So I watch.” They started walking around the perimeter of the base using the moonlight as their lantern. Their silence was comfortable, becoming slowly familiar. “Catholic and Jewish then?” 

“Yes. It did raise many eyebrows on either side of the family tree from what they told me, when they first met. No one expected marriage and a child. Of course…they argued about religion. But they came to compromises. I would go to the synagogue with my father on Friday nights and then to the Catholic church with my mother on Sunday. They did love each other very much.” Her words slowed as her thoughts grew heavier, “I miss them…sometimes it comes on stronger, however. Holidays can be difficult…” 

“Your parents passed because of the Crisis?”

“Yes.” Angela nodded, her eyes scanning the horizon as they walked. “They were killed during one of the first strikes in Switzerland. It was the whole town.” Ana was silent, listening but watching her surroundings. “…I was riding back on a bullet train from Germany, where I was attending university, when it stopped suddenly and started going backwards. We could smell the death…something I will never forget. Phones started going off, people calling family, trying to find out what was going on. I too…called my parents. The line had been disconnected. I just kept calling.” Her mind went back to that panicked girl on the train, the wailing loud in her ears, the horrible smell that wouldn’t leave her nose, and the dawning realization that she never got to say goodbye. She could feel the lump forming in her throat, her eyes growing damp. “I’m sorry.” She wiped them dry fast. “I don’t talk about it often. Ich mag es nicht zu weinen.”

“I’m sorry, Angela.” 

“…I wasn’t the only one to lose loved ones that day.” Angela turned her head to the woman. “Even after all that…I still believe in peace, believe in it stronger even, and I want to hope in my heart that it’s attainable.”

“You know of Egypt’s struggles…”Ana said slowly after some stillness had pooled between them.

“Of course…” Angela nodded. Her mouth felt dry suddenly and words failed to do her any good. 

“Do you believe we are doing the right thing here? With all our country has been through. Is peace the answer to bots that want us dead?” 

“ I….I cannot say for sure.” She replied hesitantly. “We are trying, our damnedest. My duty is to heal, to save lives. That is what I plan on doing.”

“Your ethics are admirable, Angela. Practical? Not so much.”

“I am aware. Peace in practice is most likely out of reach, but what is the point of having wings then?” The older woman laughed, patting Angela’s hand. Angela blushed a bit. 

“Clever, clever. We just need to get your aim better and you’ll be a full package.” 

\--  
They passed the other night watch, giving a nod in their direction. All clear. It was turning out to be another quiet morning. Ana sat down between several large carved blocks worn down by the passage of time. She pulled out her phone, typing quickly before bringing it up to her ear. Angela looked over the dunes with her binoculars. Along the horizon behind them the sky grew lighter in anticipation of the sun, fast moving thin clouds speed by overhead. She closed her eyes for just a moment and felt like she could sleep for another 10 years. The electronic voice of a girl made her jump. She turned and looked at Ana talking into the phone in soft Arabic, her lips curving into a smile. The girl’s voice was small and tired. Angela turned away and lifted the binoculars to her face again. 

“I have a question.” Angela stated when Ana was done with her phone call, tucking it away. “ May I ask you?”

“I suppose so.” Ana replied. 

“What is it like being a mother?” 

“I don’t believe I was expecting that.” She chuckled. “What brought that up?” 

“My question first.”

“Alright, alright….It is hard work. I love my Fareeha with all my heart. But it’s incredibly hard work. I am lucky to have support in raising her. All I do is for her. That’s what happens when you become a parent, nothing is just for you anymore. Everything about your child comes first.” She stopped and held up her hand to Angela before looking through her scope. After a few moments, she clicked her tongue. “Nothing… Anyway, are you planning on having kids?” 

“Oh no, no.” Angela chuckled, shaking her head a little. “My work has taken on that role. I’m…not ready for that.” She would have been lying if it had not crossed her mind for moments at a time. However, her thoughts would turn at once to the state of the world, its uncertainty made any tentative inklings fade away. Ana made her another cup of tea. Angela was sure the other woman knew when she was lying and punished her by making her drink the now lukewarm tea. 

-  
_Angela looked at the young sprite of a woman before her, messing with her bangs. The other tapped her foot anxiously. Angela put her hand on her left knee to stop the bouncing. For a moment it ended, only to start up in her right leg. Angela had not expected the girl to show up in Zurich, right under the nose of the UN but she was there._  
_“I was in the right place…wrong time. Or is it the other way around? Mer- Dr. Ziegler. Something needed to be done.” Something had been done. Talon seemed to be working extra hard as of late to make the world as unstable as possible._  
_“Lena.” Angela said softly. “You cannot take all of this on to your shoulders. Please.” The young woman looked away. Vigilante justice could be strongly punished. Especially if said vigilante had failed to achieve the justice they set out to do. “When you were asked to stay low, it meant stay low.” Angela’s voice almost dropped to nothing, her eyes checking around the room. “That goes double for hero work.” Lena’s face turned to Angela, an impish grin pulled at her lips. Angela raised her voice. “I want you to stop, do you understand?” Her face was serious but then she winked quickly as she stood. “It’s…only your second offense.” Angela said getting the girl a glass of water. “I can see what I can do for you but…no more of this.”_  
_“Thank you, Dr. Ziegler.” Lena said sipping the water, leg still bouncing. “I…I was just trying.”_  
_“To do the right thing. I know. Lena, it’s alright for you to call me Angela. We’ve known each other for a long time now.” The girl laughed a little bit, her eyes were still watery. Angela embraced her gently, chronal accelerator coming between them. “You did try, Lena. I know you did.”_  
-  
Reinhardt arrived just after sunrise, waking up a good part of the troops with a booming good morning, if the sound of the transport ship had not already, to the gathered night watch crew. He at once scooped up Angela in his large arms and embraced her. 

“Angela! Looking well as always. Especially for someone who was just shot.” He said. She frowned. 

“Verdammt, Morrison.” She swore. Reinhardt tutted her as Torbjorn brushed past him. He let her down so she could greet the smaller, gruffer man. Reinhardt turned his eyes to Ana putting out his hand. 

“And you must be Captain Amari, pictures do not do you justice.” He laughed. Angela looked back at him, rolling her eyes while Torbjorn complained about the other man’s flirting. 

“I could say the same about you, Reinhardt. Your…presence does not come across well in photographs either. I am glad to meet you finally.” Ana said, putting her hand in his. Torbjorn and Angela looked at each other, Angela smirking while Torbjorn frowned further. 

“Kids taday.” He huffed and continued muttering as Angela tried to remind him that they in fact not kids. Jack came up to group, Gabriel walking up behind him looking sour. Both men dressed in their Overwatch uniforms. 

“Jack!” Reinhardt swept up the man in a bear hug. Jack grunted out a laugh. “So good to see you! Looking well! Ah! And Gabriel!” He grabbed the other man who tried to slip away into the hug. “Ahah! Look at this, all back together.” He released them both. “Come, come. We have to start planning. I believe we might finally be making some real headway!”

They stood around the conference table looking at the layout of the Hub as Reinhardt told them about their achievements in Germany. Gabriel looked over the fly over shots with intense expression, rubbing his chin a bit. He passed them to Jack. 

“We can see down in there…right. It’s like it’s breathing? Ana?” Jack passed them to Ana. She looked over them. “Like an exhaust vent…Can we fly those drones closer?” Gabe handed him the printed out schematics. “This is what the drop scanner got before it was destroyed?” Gabe nodded pointing to where it abruptly cut off. 

“We’ve tried; they’ve been shot down any lower that altitude. As you can see they react fast to foreign objects.”

“Shit…” 

“We need to take out their power, it’s down there. We take it out, destroy a mass of them, send a strike team in, and finish it.” Gabe pointed at the hologram of the Hub’s top. “Getting drones that close is a problem. We need accurate drops.”

“I worry about airstrikes.” Ana spoke up. “They can be messy and harm civilians. If we don’t act fast enough afterwards, they will go for city. It has happened before.” She spun the holoprojection of the map around and showed them part of the city that had been razed. “Like this…I do not want this to happen again.” Jack drummed his fingers on the table, running his hand through his hair with his free hand.

“Fire ants…” He muttered. 

“…come again?” Ana asked. 

“Mean, stung like bullets. I…they defended their nest like hell and clung on to you, bites stayed forever.”

“Got a point, Morrison?” Gabe elbowed the other man. 

“I once saw a man turn one of their nests into art. Pouring hot aluminum down the main entrance after covering the hill with sand.” He looked at the team. "Am I making sense?"

“…I follow.” Ana said, nodding. “ Dropping charges straight into that vent, keeping them locked in with heavy artillery fire. I just don’t know if we can do that.” 

“Never give them time to rest.” Reinhardt said from the other side of the table. 

“We’ve already given them plenty of time for that, unfortunately. It’s costly…” Gabriel cut in.

“It is what we did in Germany, Reyes,” He pronounced the man’s last name poorly, “we cannot argue about cost at a time like this. If you have them at the ropes, take them out. Besides, we have Angela as our support and a small army of first responders.” Angela, who had been silently listening, looked up from the schematics of the inner workings of the Hub to her cohorts. “Am I correct in that?” 

“I am not questioning Dr. Ziegler's work.” Gabriel started, glancing at her. “This could cause mass casualties, many wounded, however. More than our small army of medics can handle.” Morrison shook his head. 

“We can keep can keep the causalities low.” He took to the map and started marking areas along the Hub and around it. “Take out these vents and solar panels…heavy artillery here and here. We know some of the base entrances are from what recon has told us.” He marked several other areas on the map. “Then strike team enters, clear out the rest of the hive. Shut it down.” He looked at Gabriel. “Finish it.” Ana looked over the plan, enlarging the points of attack. She rested her hand against her lips in thought. 

“It could work.” She said slowly. She looked at Jack. “My city will be safe, Morrison?” 

“More troops are coming from Germany.” Reinhardt added. “Well trained in defense.” 

“Keep a dedicated line at the base of the city?” Gabriel asked. Reinhardt nodded along with Jack. Gabe ran his tongue over his teeth. Angela watched him think, her eyes gazing around the table as she turned her mug in her hands. “Alright…are we all in agreement about this plan?” He looked around the table as the others began to nod in agreement. He looked at her. “You too, Angela?” 

“Yes.” She said. He hummed a bit before nodding with a sense of finality. 

“Right, alright. Let’s get this ant hill burning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ich mag es nicht zu weinen.= I do not like to cry.  
> Verdammt= God damnit


	6. Egypt: Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 of 4  
> Warning for talk of blood, gore, typical violence. 
> 
> Translations at the bottom

The day before the offense was tense, everyone feel the burden of what weighed on them when the sun rose the next day. The plan had been spread out amongst the camps, training and strategizing played out. They were on a tight schedule and Gabe let everyone know it. Angela listened to the conversations buzzing over the comm with one ear as she began work on fixing her chest plate in Torbjorn’s makeshift workshop. In her other ear, she listened to Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.

  


"I'd like ta know who put tha silly thought in yer head that ya can be a pacifist in a warzone." Torbjorn commented as he worked. He muttered on and on, sometimes waving tools at her. She eventually removed the ear bud from her ear and put down her tools.

  


“What was that?” She asked. He grunted, opening his mouth to start again.

  


“A pacifist in a warzone, who taught ya that?”

  


“I did.” She smiled, picking up the earbud to put it back in. The tinny sound of the _Infernal Dance of King Kashchei_ played as he walked over to her and handed her a blaster.

  


“When ya are done with those repairs, go practice with this one.”

  


“…what did you do to it?” She asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

  


“Made it better.” He smirked. 

  


“Thank you, Torbjorn.” She put her headphone back in and got back to work. 

Before noon, the section of the city that was closest to the Hub had been evacuated, people moved to safe spaces set up by the Egyptian government and the UN. Ana and Jack had gone to assist as they could. Later that evening, Ana returned with Jack as the sun set, sometime after the call to prayer; Angela sat in the ruins, drinking water from a canister. She sat in her tank top and green medic jump suit with the arms tied around her waist. She closed her eyes, fixing her hair. She longed for a real shower and not a five minute wash up every other day. Over the dunes, Ana carried with her more of the green bottles from before, Jack following behind her with a wooden crate of empty cans.

  


“What are those for?” She asked.

  


“Shooting practice. Surely you don’t think yesterday morning was enough?” Ana said, walking past her. Jack put down the crate near Angela and smiled at her. “We are gonna get that aim at least passable.” While Ana set up the bottles, Jack gave Angela a quick peck on the cheek.

  


“How was the evacuation?”

  


“Stressful.” He said honestly. “Lots of confusion and chaos at first. I’m glad I went with Ana.” He sat down next to her. She put her hand on his knee. “Got my mind off tomorrow, well…sort of. I’m still glad I went though.” 

  


“You need to brush up on your Arabic, Morrison.” Ana said walking back over. “Nearly told a man to eat his shirt.” She told Angela. Her eyes went to Angela’s hand on Jack’s knee. She moved her hand quickly as she stood up. She pulled out her blaster from the holster on her back and walked down to the crude set up followed by Ana. She took a moment to get in position. Ana clicked her tongue and looked over Angela after taking off her jacket and laying it on the stone blocks next to Jack. She used her foot to separate Angela’s feet a bit more. “Lift your arms a bit, good. New blaster?” Angela nodded stiffly. 

  


“Torbjorn made it for me. I brought the other one to return to you.”

  


“Keep it, Angela.” Ana smirked as she lined up her shot. “Never know when you’ll need a backup.” She bit her inner cheek, finger on the trigger. She fired, the blaster having a lot more kick than the original. The block which the bottles sat on chipped, white dust and stone flying up as her arm was thrown back. 

  


“Christus auf einem Cracker.” Angela swore looking at blaster. Torbjorn had turned up the intensity of the blaster’s firings. Something she wasn’t sure that could be done, or even if should be done. Ana and Jack laughed 

.  


“That was pretty incredible.” Jack raised his voice from where he sat.

  


“I missed the bottle.”

  


“Still…I would not to be around any of that. “he shrugged, flashing a smile at her. Ana helped her set up again. 

  


“Have you talked to Fareeha today?” Angela asked as she braced herself for the kick when she would fire.

  


“I’m calling her this evening. She’s with her aunts and uncles.” Ana said, fixing some minute detail about Angela’s stance. “Talking to her…has made me anxious.” The older woman looked at her curious face before hissing: “Practice, Ziegler.” Angela shot off several more rounds, missing all but one but seeming to do some amount to damage to the blocks nearby.

  


The sun set and darkness slipped over the land, uneasiness settled with every passing glance to the Hub. Ana finally let Angela have a break as the last ray of twilight blinked out and she went off to get a torch lamp. Angela sat next to Jack who was dozing off a bit. She nudged him.

  


“Hm…shit, sorry. Where’s Ana?”

  


“Went to get a torch lamp. I think she’s gonna work me until I get all of them.”

  


“Gabe’s been doing the same. Running drills hard all day.” Jack yawned, pointing to his ear where the comm. “Can’t blame him for wanting it right.”

  


“Is that why you are here?”

  


“…he gets intense, always has. I love it but…” Jack smiled sleepily. “He probably would have me run laps seeing me yawning.”

  


“No special treatment?” Angela smirked. Jack’s face flushed a bit and he looked away. She liked when he blushed, picking on him a little. At times, she remembered how unorthodox their relationship was. She had only been with them, romantically, for six months while they had been together for several years now. At times, she still felt like a friend who was in on secret, accidently walking in on them as they made out. Then suddenly she wrapped up in Jack’s arms and he would be peppering her with kisses or catch Gabe looking at her, smirking at her when he finally caught her eyes. She would stick her tongue out at him playfully.

  


He slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. She leaned against his chest and closed her eyes.

  


“Don’t fall asleep.” He chuckled. She listened to his heart beat steady.

  


“I won’t.” She said with her eyes still closed.

  


“Angela.” Ana shouted suddenly from the shooting range. Both of them jumped apart, Angela standing up, taking the crate of cans up to her chest, and quickly jogged over to Ana. She was setting up the torch lamp, light spreading out in a large, white circle. Angela aimed and fired several rounds off, shooting through two of the bottle and nicking the top off the third. Ana watched her with her arms crossed over her chest. “Getting the hang of it, finally?”

  


“Omnics will be different than bottles, if it comes to that. But yes.” Angela nicked the fourth and fifth bottle.

  


“Morrison wants you to come with strike team.” Ana stated. “So, I want you to be ready if anything should happen.” Angela slowly put the blaster and looked at the other woman, shaking her head slowly.

  


“I don’t think that is a good idea.” She replied. 

  


“I said he wants you to come. I don’t believe he has run that by Reyes yet. He might disagree. But you are a medic; we do need one of those. In case this plan does not go accordingly. We are good at what we do but we aren’t immortal.”

  


“Do you think it is a good idea?”

  


“…I trust your medical knowledge.”

  


“More than my aim.”

  


“More than your aim.” Ana smirked, looking over towards Jack. “Looks like he’s discussing it now with him.” Angela looked back and saw Jack speaking with Gabriel, Torbjorn, and Reinhardt. Angela looked away and started shooting again. Ana put her hand on her hip. “Keep practicing…” She headed up the incline. Angela watched her leave and join the small fray. The next two bottles shattered. She started placing cans where the bottles once stood.

  


It wasn’t until the cartridge fell out of the blaster and most of the cans had a hole in them in some way that, Reinhardt called her over. She made her way over to them after setting the blaster’s safety on, sticking into the back holster. He patted her back with a large hand. Gabe looked at her.

  


“We want you to come with us as part of the strike.” He said flatly. “We need a medic, in case anything goes south.”

  


“…” She looked at them, fingers messing with the sleeves of her medic jumper. “…I am honored that you would…ask for my assistance.” Gabe’s lips ghosted a smile.

  


“Dr. Ziegler. Not asking, we need a healer.” He clarified. Jack gave him a look. “You’re the best. I want the best.”

  


“Am I a liability?” She asked seriously.

  


“Tch…” Ana tutted at her. “We are all liabilities to each other, that is war. We are more so without a medic.” She took the younger woman’s hand. “…I have your back, Ziegler.” She looked like she wanted to say something more. _Help me get back to my daughter in one piece._ She looked at Gabriel and Jack for a quick moment as Reinhardt patted her back heavily.

  


“Bleib bei mir, Herr Doktor Ziegler.” He laughed heartily. “Nichts zu fürchten.”

  


“Wenn ich gehe , brauche ich für alle da zu sein.” She replied. He laughed again. She looked at the others. “Alright…I will come with.” Gabe leaned back a bit, smirking. “Someone has to keep you all alive.”

  
\--  


Angela flew to each medic group stationed with the artillery, making sure they had everything they needed. The Hub was becoming active again, buzzing with energy, steam fanning through the massive vents. She could see the drones’ whiz by in the sky, her gut twisting anxiously. Waves of heat swam over the dunes, the sun bearing down on them.

  


In her left ear she listened to Gabe yell out orders, Jack repeating orders down the line. Word spread out through the stationed groups. The first drops were beginning in moments. Her heart pounded in her chest. She and probably every person standing ready were praying for this to work, for this to be it. Affirmatives came into her ear from each team, Reinhardt nearly blowing out the comm and her ear drum. Ana gave her affirmative in Arabic standing with the line of defense tanks and turrets in front of the city. Heavy artillery if it had to be final line.

  


Gabe had told the others about hearing rumors that this might be final nail in the coffin so to speak; news of victories across Germany, India and Eastern Coast of China were springing up the night before. The strike team revealed in this information hesitantly. However, talk among soldiers on the subject remained scarce. Enough weighed heavy on their shoulders with the battle before them.

  


The drones began to drop their charges into the open vent at the top of the Hub. She lost count of how many went through. Silence and then, the earth shook, sand rising as huge flames and billows of black smoke poured out through every opening. Heavy fire started on the openings at the base of the Hub as Omnics began to crawl out, some on fire. All enraged,pouring towards the lines. Angela rose over the din, moving fast to heal those burned and wounded. Omnics fell like dominos as they attempted to take the line before the city, Ana’s sniper piercing their metal skin.

  


The vents were destroyed by Torbjorn’s turrets, stopping proper ventilation of the Hub as fires and explosions ripped through the walls.

  


Charges were still being dropped, the mass inner workings beneath their feet destroyed. It was loud, louder than anything she had ever heard, and it shook Angela to her core. It went on for 30 minutes before the order to cease fire went out. The fires had lessened, dying down. A scanner was dropped down the ruined vent at the top of the Hub, looking for movement. Nothing. Angela made her way around to each group, checking in with her medical teams. Burns, minor wounds, nothing fatal. They were lucky. As the scanner continued its search, their forces took time to regroup and re-center. Angela worked on removing shrapnel from a soldier’s arm when she heard Jack in her ear.

  


“We’re going in shortly.” He let her know. “Keep an ear out alright.”

  


“Of course. I’ll be there. I need to finish here, please.” The line was silent, she began healing the wounded soldier after removing several long and bloody pieces of shrapnel. The drone strikes stopped a few moments later as the units were told to move back.

  
\--  


She checked her medical tools, wrapping them tight in a leather bag before moving on to the three cartridges near the front of the holster belt. She hoped it wouldn’t come to using them. She strapped it around her waist. She tucked the blaster in her holster and picked up her Caduceus staff. She turned, looking at the strike team. Gabe put his hand on her shoulder talking to her in a low voice.

  


“You are going to be alright, Angela.”

  


“And you?”

  


“Why, you worried?” He chuckled. Her grey-hazel eyes locked with his golden brown.

  


“Of course I am. I…it is my job.” She said quickly as Reinhardt looked over at them. Gabe barely turned his head to look at the other man, giving her a half smile before removing his hand from her shoulder.

  


“Alright…are we ready?” He growled to the group. “Let’s move out.” 

Even after letting the Hub cool after excessive bombing, it was incredibly hot; across the way from the entrance over a large gaping maw to the inner workings of the Hub, the walls melted orange and white. Steam and smoke rose from pipes and heavily damaged areas of the ground and walls. Angela followed after Reinhardt, Caduceus staff tight to her chest. Both Gabriel and Jack had run ahead, checking corridors for any signs of life , Ana scanning out through her scope. 

  


It felt hollowed out, empty but sill unsafe. Ana kept them aware of destruction in their way. It didn’t last that long. It was loud and sudden, she was pushed back behind Reinhardt’s shield. Something had exploded. Shrapnel flying in every direction. An Omnic swung at them, appearing around a corner. Ana sniped from behind Angela, the bullet whizzing by her neck and shoulder, crushing its head in. Angela could hear Jack’s pulse rifle and suddenly her name. She looked at Reinhardt before checking the coast, flying to Jack’s side. She healed a minor wound on his arm as he pulled her over into a small corner.

  


“Get to Reyes,” He barked. “Now.” She could hear the gunfire continue as she rushed into the space. Gabe’s face was marred with shrapnel from the first explosion, climbing up his right cheek and one very close to hitting his left eye, blood pouring freely. His right side was also peppered with metal shards, Angela swore dropping down as she pulled out the small leather bag. She started checking how deep they went, cutting into his shirt to reveal the damage on his torso. He pushed against her, getting angry.

  


“Angela, just heal it.”

  


“We both-“He grunted as she started numbing with a small syringe around his face. “We both need to get out there.” She gave him painkillers as she worked, trying to move as quickly as possible.

  


“Gabriel…you have metal in your face. Be silent.” She started pulling gently at the shrapnel with the tweezers. He growled a bit as it gave, blood spilling forward. It was deep, the scar would be prominent. She pulled each out with deft fingers healing with the Caduceus. “Alright…wait….wait.” She hissed at him removing the one on his brow, pulling out the metal shards that ruined the flow of his thick eyebrow. His torso would be next. She pushed the comm in her ear. 

  


“Morrison, what is our status?” She listened to the silence. “Morrison” She pressed it again. ”…Amari…” She cursed.

  


“It’s under control for now.” Jack finally replied, the connection cutting in and out.

  


“For now!” She could hear Reinhardt yell.

  


“How is he?” Jack said lower, she could hear him reloading in the background as she finished the large cut on Gabe’s jaw line.

  


“Numbed, drugged. How do you feel about scars…” Gabe squinted at her and she smiled just barely. She started work on the cut on his brow. “I’m working as fast as I can to get back to you all.” Silence again. She heard something down the way on the other side of the nook they were in. She stood, pulling out her blaster, turning off the safety. Several Omnics were coming at her. She fired at the ground at first, a warning shot.

  


“Don’t waste time with that!” Gabe yelled. She shot one in the leg and the other in the shoulder as the third charged her. She unloaded into its chest, until the blaster clicked, cartridge sticking out. She pushed it back up and stood, gun ready as the Omnic dropped to the ground for the other two. The first jumped against pillars of the nook, coming at her from the side. She heard several heavy rounds from the pulse rifle behind her. The omnic crumpling to the ground to her left. “GET ON IT, ZIEGLER!” He yelled as she lifted to her gun at the last Omnic with the damaged leg. She finished it off, watch the light fade out of it. She felt sick.

  


She dropped back down in front of Gabe, going back to healing him before he lost any more blood; from his brow, blood oozed down around and into his left eye. She wiped it away as best she could before starting the healing again. She examined his chest as he grew more agitated.

  


“Jack, can you hear me?” She shouted into the comm. “Morrison!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christus auf einem Cracker. = Christ on a cracker.  
> Bleib bei mir, Herr Doktor Ziegler. = Stay with me, Doctor Ziegler.  
> Nichts zu fürchten.= Nothing to fear.  
> Wenn ich gehe , brauche ich für alle da zu sein. = When I go, I need to be there for everyone.  
> \--  
> I'm sorry these chapters do take a little longer. The next one will be the last one of this section and it will be a bit longer.  
> \--  
> The Firebird Suite is one of my favorite classical pieces (especially Isao Tomita's electronic version of it) and I found it fitting for this scene.


	7. Egypt: Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you finally hold a mirror up to your life, these were your choices, did you do what's right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took an incredibly long time, I'm terribly sorry. Again, forgive my lack of skill when it comes to writing action-have to start somewhere, right?  
> Translations and other notes at the bottom.

_It was risky. So risky. Angela could feel her heartbeat in her fingertips, her latex gloves sweaty. She couldn’t cry, so she just gritted her teeth and attempted to rebuild the man she loved. Broken bones, bullet holes, and knife wounds were one thing with her nanobiological technology. This was…literally rebuilding. She had rebuilt a person before …Genji was different. That was metal…cybroganization, prosthetics. Ana’s eye, Jesse’s arm. A team of nurses and doctors at her disposal. This was just blood and bone and flesh. Herself, alone. That was her choice. Such work had never been attempted on such a scale._  
_Not everyone was so lucky. She didn’t cry. She held her head high and carried on. She had no idea who was lost; she had turned off the commway. She didn’t want to hear it, she needed to focus. She had looked for Jack, amidst the wreckage. The search continued without her. She had been working for hours now, alone. She had pushed away assistance. She looked up at the monitor and wiped her head on her forearm, everything was steady. Patience was the key, even if she felt like she swallowed burning coals. Resurrect the dead. Gabriel wasn’t dead. A vile voice whispered from deep down. Yet. She shook her head. Her blonde hair stuck to her forehead. She looked wild, anxious, desperate. The opposite of angelic._  
-  
_She had finished in the early morning. She stood up from the side of the operating table and lifted up the mechanical arm of the nanobiological stream that descended from the ceiling after turning it off. She pulled off her latex gloves and threw them into the biohazard trash before going to wash her hands up to her forearms. Entering the small room to the side, she turned on the commway and listened. The news was still the same. As it would be…as it rightfully should. Many missing, hundreds dead- the number had stopped climbing at least, hundreds more wounded and hospitalized. How did this happen? What happened? She turned and looked at the prone body on the operating table, repaired lungs rising and falling, filling with air. She wanted to scream. What happened, Gabriel?! She walked over to the monitors, checking each one as the noise of the reports still poured in through the commway. His vitals were balancing out, everything settling into place. Her heart ached with adrenaline, her head with exhaustion. She wasn’t done yet; she still had to do the external run of the nanites. She sighed and had another pair of gloves put on. She began moving the stream arm, starting at his head. Cuts and gashes scarred over, marring his face and body. The scars across his jawline and right cheek from Egypt paled in comparison to the new one that wound up and branched out around his neck like a Rose of Sharon, the one that crossed his lips as if silencing him, and the one that had destroyed his left eye. Vitiligo looking scars and patches swept across his face._

_He was still handsome to her. His brows were furrowed, a grimace under the breathing mask; almost his permanent expression in weeks leading up to this moment. In the months to this moment? God, had it been years? Had she ignored it that long, had she played naïve and innocent?_

_She touched his scarred cheek before pulling away, moving the mechanical arm to his shoulders._

_It was a few hours before dawn; Gabriel had been moved out of the operating room and into one of the hospital room. Angela leaned against the large window, watching the chaos still out across the city play out. Siren sounds dulled by the thick glass, large transports from all parts of the world made their way in, hovering over the city. She should be out there. She looked back at Gabriel, her face twisting into unreadable emotions before turning her communicator on._

_“This is Mercy. I am on my way back out on to the field. Direct me to where I need to be.” Her voice was strained but she attempted to keep up appearances. There was a beat for a moment._

_“Dr. Zieg- Mercy. We have our bases covered. Your efforts on the frontline last night were laudable. Our investigation is beginning now.” A man’s voice came in, clear as a bell._

_“Investigation?” She repeated._

_“Again, Dr. Ziegler, the situation in under UN command now.”_

_“W-wait, please, before you hang up. Strike Commander Morrison? Have…has he been found? Alive or…?” She stopped there, feeling her throat close before that word could escape her mouth._

_“He is among the missing…presumed dead, Dr. Ziegler. We unfortunately did not recover anything…substantial.” His voice was practiced, professional and with a certain ease. It made her want to throw up. “We will be meeting soon in person soon, I am sure.” The line went dead and she pulled it from her ear, throwing down on the ground. She shook, staring at her reflection. Tears welled in her eyes until they stung; forcing her to close her eyes and weep._

_“Mercy, our Mercy.” Said a harsh, gravelly voice from behind her. She turned, looking at Reyes. His hand went to the breathing apparatus._

_“Don’t!” She yelled, loud, running to the bedside to enforce her seriousness. “You need that still, your lungs aren’t finished healing. He laughed, wheezing. “Stop, just stop.” Her voice came out as a whimper. There was silence for a long time as she stood over him, their eyes locked. She was unable to stop herself from asking.“Gabriel…what happened?”_

_“You’re usual bedside manner is lacking.” He chuckled again, looking at his arm. “…Is this a prosthetic?” His other hand went to his face. “I’m…having trouble seeing out of this one.”_

_“Nein …it’s you. And you will, for a while.” She said softly and began to list. “Your lower right arm…your entire right leg….your left foot and calf… major parts of internal organs including your lungs…left side of your torso, your face and left eye. It’s you.” She rested her head in her hand._

_“ Is my dick still there?” His lip twitched out a small smile._

_“Für die Liebe Gottes!” She cried out. He laughed again before coughing. “What did I just say?”_

_“I love when you yell at me in German. But really…”_

_“ Yes…Christus.” She groaned, exasperated. There was silence settling between them, words pushing against her clamped mouth. So many questions, each worse than the last. He watched her begin to pace._

_“…talk, Angela.”_

_“Please…tell me what happened? Where is Jack?” She whispered. She could see his face change, something hard there. “Gabriel, please.”_

_“Where’s Jack… Jack left me to die, Angela.” He said sharp, turning it over in his mouth like something bitter. “I knew, meirda…you did always like him more, didn’t you?” Angela’s eyes grew wide and she smacked his breathing mask pulled to the right. Her hand shook and she covered her mouth before clenching it into a fist, her warm brown skin paling at her knuckles._

_“I HAVE SPENT HOURS! HOURS PULLING YOU FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH!” She sobbed. “I-I couldn’t bear to see you die, not there in that burning rubble…not on my operating table. I have done the unprecedented! Against my better judgement! To save you! A-and this is the first thing you say to me! People are dead! Wounded…I helped as many as I could but when I saw you, I couldn’t help them anymore. There was only you in my mind. Jack is…they are saying he is dead! How could he leave you when he is dead!? And you tell me…that you think I loved Jack more than you? If anything…you loved him more than anyone else. ” Silence filled the room, the sirens outside muffled and distant. His jaw, clenched since the blow, softened._

_“That...was wrong of me.” He whispered. Another long silence, worse and more painful. He exhaled slowly, good eye locking with hers. She felt like a knife was being slipped out of her chest. “Do you know what it is like being shuttered away, Dr. Ziegler?” He coughed. Her own name felt like a curse, a swear the way he said it. She reached to him but he shoved her hands away, slow. It burned her heart. “I’m sorry, Mercy. The world knows of you and Jack…smiling, white saviors. Do you even know what kind of cesspool Overwatch has become? A violent nightmare.”_

_“A-a cesspool? We do good work, Reyes. W-we ended a war! We’ve fought evil in all its forms! Overwatch did that! ” Even as you struggle in righteousness to help your kith and kin, harm can still come to them from those actions. “I have…the whole world has heard about Blackwatch…Gabriel, what has happened?”_

_“…Shit, Doc.” His voice was serious but a subtle chuckle was there._

_“…this cannot be because of that…”_

_“DON’T ACT LIKE IT WAS NOTHING!” He shouted suddenly from the bed, sitting up against the wires and tubes. The monitors hiked and beeped louder. He shook, coughing but his stare still intense. She stepped back instinctively, tears in her eyes. “Open your goddamn eyes, Angela! Overwatch is just like Talon under the table. I had orders. I did my job. And Jack, Jack Glimmering Golden fuck, turned his back. Face of Overwatch. ”_

_“No! You open yours!” She yelled pulling back the curtain of the window overlooking the city. Smoke and ash and dust still settling, highlighted red and white from the lights of emergency vehicles. The man’s scowl became more unpleasant, turning his eyes away. “Look at it! PEOPLE ARE DEAD, REYES! Because of what!? A pissing contest! Is that what happened?! Congratulations, your machismo has a body count for all to see! Including your lover. süße Mutter Gottes!”Her voice shook as she sank down in front of the tall window. At first, he glared out past her before swiftly turning his eyes on her, unreadable and glassy, and her heart ached. “I love you both…I love you. I wanted you to live… I didn’t want to be alone.”_

_“Eso es egoista!” He snapped sharply. Angela stood up. “You ran! You ran when things got hard!”_

_“Dann lassen Sie mich egoistisch sein!” She yelled fists at her side. “Wenn ich Sie verloren beide…” Her voice had dropped. “Wenn ich…” She turned away, covering her face. She cried, exhausted, ready to wake up from this nightmare. This hell she found herself in. Her whole form racked by the tears that she could finally cry. Sie dummes Mädchen._

But... if he was right, if something was rotting within Overwatch, it had taken him first; turned him so quick and so hard. She tried to keep everything together…ignorance…naivety. They tried to kill each other. Long moments passed, her tears dried hard on her cheeks. Her back had started to hurt to keep her sobs contained. 

_“Angela, come here.” His voice was low. “Come here please…” She stood there for what felt like an eternity before returning to his bedside. He reached to her hand in his new one, pale brown scars shining along his dark skin. They would heal, soon not so shocking. She gave it to him, fresh tears streaming down her face. He begged her in Spanish to come closer. The heat, the edge gone from his voice, from his face. He started sitting up, reaching to pull her in. He had taken off the breathing mask around his mouth_  
.  
_“S-stop stop please, you have to rest. For the love of God, just listen to me for once. Stop being so damn reckless.” She put her hands on his chest. He brought his hand behind her neck. The kiss was hard and desperate. In ways it reminded her of their first, messy and new. She leaned into it, tasting her tears as they mixed in. For just a moment, they were pulled away from the hospital and the reality of what happened. “Gabriel…bitte Gott.” She whispered into his lips._

_She tasted something else. Iron. She pulled back, blood on her lips and chin. She looked up. His mouth and nose filled with blood. Good eye now bloodshot, pupil dilated. He coughed, spraying her face and coat in blood. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as she called for help, standing up and racing to the door as her heel gave way. She screamed louder over the din that the machines were making, stepping into the hall. They seemed to move slower than her. She turned back inside, saying things to him in German, reaching out as black smoke seemed to billow out of his mouth, nostrils, and eyes as he began to convulse violently. She covered her mouth with both hands, body forced back on instinct. God, the smell of death. She pushed against it, tears streaming down her face once more, pulling herself against him._

_“What did you do to me, Angela?!” His voice was small against her ear, blood smeared on her cheek, and sprayed into her hair. She could hear him over the machines chiming loudly, over the other doctors and nurses’ screams as they came through the door. She pushed them back, grabbing tightly as the smoke stopped curling from his mouth. The heart monitor stopped its chaotic song, dropping down into a solitary note. His body slacked in her arms. She called to him once, twice before she was pulled back by two nurses._

_“NO, PUT ME DOWN!” Her legs kicked, attempting to swing herself around and trip them up, losing her heels in the process. “LASS MICH RUNTER! RETTE IHN!”_

\--  
“Mercy, you coming through? Reyes, you got eyes on her?” Jack’s voice finally rang out, not perfectly clear. She could hear heavy gun fire in the background. They had moved from the small nook, deeper into the maw of the Hub. 

“I’m lucky I have eyes after that explosion. Where are you?” Gabe snapped. He sounded grateful to hear the other man’s voice, even as his words came out gruff and harsh. 

“Jack! Christus, Jack.” She whispered, rushing to keep up with Gabriel’s sprints even after she told him to take it slow. 

“We’re under heavy fire, about five floors above the Hub’s last defenses and powergrid. The bombing…widened up this nasty looking pit.” His voice wavered, crackling in their ears. “Path should be cleared down, between the bombing and us that is.” She heard him swear and yell. “Ana’s down! Get down here, now!” Gabriel’s face twisted in some severe way but he silently motioned to Angela to hurry up as she began to hover next to his side as they made their way through the sweltering metal labyrinth. They followed the path of fallen Omnics, destroyed by gun fire and Reinhardt’s hammer. The sounds of gunfire grew louder, the heat more intense as the floor below them shook violently. The remaining power flickered in and out as they stood hidden. Angela took the moment to examine his torso, healing the think bleeding cuts. 

The gunfire began to cease and an uncomfortable silence fell over the Hub. Angela held her blaster in her hand, watching Gabriel’s back. A few paced shots rang out.  
“Sounds like turrets.” He whispered, taking a quick peek around the pillar before facing her again. “Turrets. To our left and straight ahead. Some damaged.” 

Jack’s voice was back in their ear. “Sight for sore eyes, Reyes.” They turned their eyes to their right, across the way, over the steep drop down to the final powergrid, seeing Jack and the others behind sparse cover. He gave a two finger wave to the other man before winking. He was bleeding under his left eye. 

“Shut up, Morrison.” Ana’s voice came through, just as rough and crackly as Jack’s. “Reyes, you have a better vantage point. How many are we looking at?” He moved low behind several thick cables.  
“20 to 30 bots.” He replied. “Turrets are weakened. We can take those out from behind, just have to be careful. Angela, get over to Ana.” 

“I’m fine!” The other woman hissed. 

“Angela, her right eye is bleeding.” Reinhardt’s voice suddenly joined the others, deep and rumbling. Angela looked to Gabriel who reloading one of his guns. His golden-brown eyes flicked to her before pointing with his jaw to get a move on. She crouched as much as she could after slipping her blaster back into its hostler and holding her Caduceus staff tight to her chest. 

The cloth that Reinhardt had used to stop the hemorrhaging from Ana’s wound was now stained a deep red. Angela barely spoke, finding there was not much to save of Ana’s right eye. She worked healing to stop the bleeding. Behind her, she listened to Torbjorn’s turrets take out omnics levels below them. The turrets which had plagued their colleagues before had been taken out, falling down below into the pit. Only seconds later did the two super soldiers, Torbjorn, and Reinhardt descended as well. 

“Ana…we can get you a new eye. A cybernetic one.” She stopped herself from saying  
‘a better one’; she had wordlessly promised to help bring this woman back to her daughter alive and in one piece, and she had failed part of that. The other woman smiled at her gently, grasping her upper arm tightly.

“Dr. Ziegler…help get us out of here alive. That is what I want. Otherwise, do not worry about me.” Angela opened her mouth to talk back when the ground shook below them, smoke seeping up though the walls and cables as the lights flickered again. “Come, before they finish them off.” Angela stood up with Ana and the other woman picked up her gun again. “We need to get in there. Will you be my eyes, Angela?” 

“…of course, Ana.” She smiled, holding the other woman close as she spread the wings of her Valkyrie Suit.  
-  
_She stood over his body in the morgue. The other doctor stood at the doorway, arms crossed, watching her as she looked over Reyes’ body. Everything she had replaced during the surgery was beginning to turn a mottled mix of his dark brown skin, thin light brown scars, pure white swaths that looked like vitiligo, and ashy black splotches, that had begun to spread out over the rest of his body. Dried blood remained on his lips and beard from his nose and mouth. They had tried three times to restart his heart. Three times failed._

_“I want an autopsy…” She said quietly, her voice still shaky. She needed to see where she had failed him. She had inspected and washed and inspected again. Checked for infection, for abnormalities where his blood had reached her, she would be monitored. Her damp curls were pulled back in usual ponytail, her dark roots showing beneath the blonde. She shivered in the cold air, pulling her white coat closer._

_“Alright.” The doctor replied. She opened his closed left eye that she had replaced. No white, just blood red, the iris and pupil dulled of color and light. “What do you think that you did wrong?”_

_“…I don’t know.”_

_“I warned you, Dr. Ziegler.” He said, haughty and cruel. Her eyes glanced at the older man momentarily before returning to Reyes._

_“I know.” She snapped back._

_“I don’t believe you do. Your selfishness and arrogance has done this. Aren’t we lucky that you were not so emotionally distracted while healing those other survivors?” He was cold. She turned colder as she covered Gabriel with the white sheet and pushed his body into the large metal cold chambers._

_“You and I both know that is not what I intended at all. Order the autopsy. That is all I want.” She said brushing past him through the door._

_“Where are you going, Dr. Ziegler?”_

_“I need to sleep.” She replied without turning back around. She walked down the long halls, took two separate elevators up to the doctor’s lounge as her mind went numb. She entered the empty lounge, the TV playing on mute in the background. The news still going. She stepped into the back room of the lounge where bunk beds lined the walls tightly. She collapsed into one after sliding out of her coat, letting it fall to the ground like a waning crescent, sinking into the stale-smelling sheets. She closed her eyes slowly. At once her mind stormed her inner eye with the horrors of the last 24 hours. Her eyes opened wide and she laid there, half on her side, half on her stomach. She sobbed angrily, weakly slamming her hand into the hard mattress, there was no give. She cursed every name of God she knew, cursed the devil, cursed herself, and cursed both men for dying on her, for trying to kill each other, for leaving her. She got up and ripped the sheets off the bed, tearing at them in a frenzy she never knew she was capable of, and threw the pillows on the ground. She sank down finally, exhausted. Her eyesight bleary from the sharpness of her tears, hair wild and free from its confines. Her phone buzzed in her coat pocket on the floor and she leaned over slowly to answer._

_“Ja, hier Ziegler.” She whispered, voice steady and even._

_“Dr. Ziegler.” She could hear Winston’s voice._

_“Winston…”_

_“Can you please come the UN headquarters. We all need to talk. It is of utmost-“_

_“Winston…” Her voice was shaky as she cut him off. She was so tired. Her heart ached._

_“Please, Dr. Ziegler…Angela.”_

\---  
_Reinhardt put down the cup of coffee in front of her. She looked around the table. Lena was looking down, her chair squeaking as she bounced her legs, anxiously, her hair in her hands. Under the table, Angela’s hands balled into fists before flexing flat against her lap. She attempted to remain calm and sane through this. Reinhardt took his spot in his chair, leaning heavily forward. Torbjorn sat far back in his seat barely looking at her. Winston nodded to her across the room. She must have looked her age today._

_“So…Reyes…”Reinhardt started. Angela looked at him, dark circles under her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Angela.” The table finally looked towards her; she avoided their gaze and drank the coffee in front of her. She cleared her throat._

_“I tried everything I could.” She finally said. She didn’t go into detail. It was not what they wanted to hear. “I have ordered an autopsy.”_

_“Jack?” Torbjorn asked hesitantly. He knew the answer. They all did._

_“They have recovered…very little. What they have recovered…they will not let me examine.” Several responses were made to that statement, mostly made up Torbjorn swearing. “I am lucky enough that the UN is letting the hospital perform an autopsy on Gab-…Reyes.” She attempted to keep her reactions in check._

_“But are you not their doctor…their colleague?” Winston asked. He was right, of course. “You would be able…to identify Jack…” The room fell into a long difficult silence._

_“What are we gonna do?” Lena finally spoke up._

_“The UN has asked for us to speak tomorrow morning.” Winston repeated matter of factly._

_“No…I mean about all of this!” She yelled. The room dropped into an uncomfortable silence, eyes glancing at each other momentarily. So sharply in her heart Angela longed for Ana, a pillar of strength and good conscious, a voice of reason; taken from them too._

_“Talks…behind closed doors…rumors of talks, about shutting Overwatch down.” Winston tapped a large knuckle against the table._

_“They’re mad.” Torbjorn smashed his claw down on the table. “Would they not be here taday if it weren’t fer us?”_

_“And where would we be without them, Torbjorn. This…is a long time coming.” Reinhardt said solemnly. He was right. Recent public opinion regarding Overwatch was positive in some spots, neutral in others but once news about Blackwatch broke, all turned negative. Angela sipped her coffee, feeling it crawl down her throat like lukewarm mud. Their talking became muddled and warped as she dissociated far off. Shit, Doc._

_“…Angela. Was Gabriel…conscious at all? If there was anything…”_

_“They fought each other.” Angela said, cold. Jaws around her tightened, teeth gritting. It would all come out eventually, all the parts she didn’t know and did. “Tried…succeeded in killing each other.” A voice rattled in her brain: no, you killed him. “ And others…many others.” The silence settled back in. She spoke before she could dissociate further. “I’ll speak.” The table looked up at her. Reinhardt shook his head no forcefully._

_“Angela…” Winston began._

_“No, nein, Angela.” Reinhardt said louder._

_“Let me do this…” She looked at the older man and then held the gaze of each member. Lena shook her head slowly, her eyes large and glassy. “Lassen Sie mich dies tun.”_

\----  
It was chaos and it was ugly. Something felt final about every movement, every bullet and blow. The powergrid began to burn after Jack unloaded a clip or two into it before reloading and turning on what was left of the rouge omnics. Ana, even with her right eye gone, was a force to be reckoned with; when she wasn’t aiming with Angela’s help, she used the butt of her rifle to beat down those who got too close. Angela switched back and forth between the Caduceus staff and the blaster as needed; sometimes leaving Ana’s side to the others to heal their wounds before they got worse. Adrenaline burned through her, causing her aim to be off. She felt a sharp pain in her left thigh and hip, suddenly aware of the omnic coming for her. Her steps backwards slowed, blaster aligning with its head. Her lips parted as she felt her finger pull the trigger. The omnic crumpled at her feet before the sound registered in her ears. 

“Gott…” She said softly as her leg bled and the battle continued around her. She worked on healing as her mind grew foggy from minor blood loss and adrenaline. At one point she registered someone telling her she was bleeding, then louder to move. The explosion felt earth shattering, shrapnel rising up to greet their bodies. The ringing in her ears made it impossible to hear, but she was still alive and slowly becoming painfully aware of it. Reinhardt’s shield was up, realizing she was hiked up in the crook of his arm as tumultuous waves of fire twisted past them. She looked over to Jack who was reloading his gun. He was bleeding from his crown, his blonde hair smeared with red, the cut under his eye reopened as well. If there had been any rouge omnics left, the explosion had taken them out. Behind the shield, Angela slipped from Reinhardt’s arm after healing and boosting him to her comrades, staff ready. The fire finally died out from the lack of stable oxygen, leaving the interior of the powergrid room blackened as the lights finally flickered out. From above them, way way up, sunlight filtered down into the pit, steam and smoke and dust rising to greet it. There was a final sweep as Angela took a moment to look at her leg and hip.  
“Angela…” Ana said. She looked up at the other woman. “Come, let’s get of this pit.” Ana took her bloodstained hands.  
\--  
_She looked over the crowd that had gathered outside the Zurich UN Headquarters. The sun was rising behind them, the clouds low and thin, fast moving as the sky turned light blue and grey . She turned back at Reinhardt, Lena, Torbjorn, and Winston for just a moment. The paper shook in her hands as she turned back to the crowd._

_"Two days ago, a bomb went off in the Zurich Headquarters of Overwatch. As we know, so far that Zurich has lost...300 people. We mourn with you, Zurich…with Switzerland, for your loss and tragedy. This pain belongs in the past, should have ended with the war. “The number of those who were wounded has steadily dropped, many of them recovering as we speak. To those who are still missing, please keep them and their families in your thought.” She paused, eyes scanning hesitantly over the crowd. The cameras made her feel ill. Above her, a holoprojector began to roll names of the dead by. She translated her own words before continuing. “We mourn with you, Zurich. We too, have lost many of our own." She licked her lips, anxiously. "This was a tragedy that should have never occurred. Among our lost...is our Strike Commander John...Jack Morrison." She felt Reinhardt's large hand on her back. “Who served Overwatch and the world loyally to keep the peace we have so desperately fought for.” She paused before translating again. She felt uneasiness in the crowd, eyes glancing at the men in black stationed nearby. “The morning after the explosion, another of our own, Gabriel Reyes...head of Blackwatch, passed away after extensive surgery in efforts to save his life.”_

_She suddenly felt pulled aside by Reinhardt’s large hand, hearing the sound of rocks and rotting produce pelting the window behind her._  
\--

Angela sat in the medtent as the medic extracted the bullet from her thigh. It hurt like hell but her pain was dulled as she listened to the uproarious yells from outside. A thread of anxiety still rang high but a wave of relief had passed so thoroughly over the base camp it was hard not to feel a finality to their mission. To this war. Her mother and father stood outside their tight condo, waving at her as she closed her eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she blindly placed her fingertips against it's roughness, it's barely manicured nails.

"How is she doing?" She heard Ana's voice. The medic looked up towards her. 

"I need a drink." Angela said in all seriousness, her eyes still closed. She flinched feeling the buried bullet pull on her skin and muscle, nose scrunching and ugly. 

"Plenty of time for that now." 

"Are we getting ahead of ourselves, Captain Amari?"" She asked the older woman. Outside it was loud, rambunctious and manic. 

"...Dr. Ziegler, my dear. The war is done...work remains but for now, I'll get you that drink." Ana said, Angela looked up at the other woman who was smiling small, but her whole being seemed to shine. "Thank you, Angela. For helping me get back to my daughter." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Für die Liebe Gottes= For the love of God  
> Eso es egoista!= that's selfish  
> Dann lassen Sie mich egoistisch sein! = then let me be selfish.  
> Wenn ich Sie verloren beide…= If I lost [you] both...  
> Wenn ich= if I...  
> Sie dummes Mädchen. = you silly girl  
> bitte Gott= please God.  
> LASS MICH RUNTER! RETTE IHN= Let me down. Save him.  
> Ja, hier Ziegler. = Yes, Ziegler here.  
> Lassen Sie mich dies tun= Let me do this.  
> \--------------------------------------------------  
> If you are remotely curious about what I listen to while writing, I am working on a mix which is quite messy right now.  
> I recommend listening to Lorn's Anvil ( Long Edition) or the full Vessel album as well Widow's Peak and In God's House from Bats for Lashes' The Bride.  
> \-----------------  
> Thank you for reading. I promise sickeningly sweet fluff and smut in the next chapter, some of which I already have written, so it shouldn't take too long hopefully.


	8. All-American Summer: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of 3  
> Rated M for some explicit scenes near the end. The next two chapters will probably follow the same rating.  
> Translations and notes in endnotes.

_She looked across the table at the man lighting up the cigarette. The room was small and dark, just big enough for two chairs and the metal table between them. A single table light sat to her right, a glass ashtray on the opposite side. She hated cigarettes but asked him for one. She hoped the spark would burn through her, since she felt like she was made of nothing but explosives. He looked at her with surprise but handed her one. She leaned forward against the table for him to light it. She sat back down and crossed her legs under the table before uncrossing them nervously. The cigarette didn’t cause her to explode, but the smoke made her throat and lungs ache. She knew what this was._

_Interrogation…perhaps much gentler than what Blackwatch had been known to do in its time. She had gleaned that much from everything leaked. Gabe had always smoked more coming back from his missions. They never talked about it. She never knew the extent. Her heart twisted. She blew the smoke out her nose. Small room, lack of light. The smoke and the haze. She’d seen movies too. At this point her life didn’t feel that far from a movie._

_“Dr. Ziegler…” He began. “This…perhaps is one of the largest terrorist attacks we have faced since the Crisis. 300 causalities…200 to 250 wounded.” He looked over his papers then to her. “Your help and technology of course, brought that number down. 100 of those severally wounded, brought back from the brink. You were on the frontlines. We thank you for that.”_

_She nodded her head slowly. Waiting._

  
_“When you found one Gabriel Reyes, you spent 10 to 12 hours in experimental surgery. Is that right?” She nodded again. “You’ve operated many times before, on many other friends and Overwatch agents is that right as well?” She nodded, inhaling deeply. “Would you like to tell me what happened?"_

_"What is there to tell, sir. I gave a speech in front of the UN about it already. He passed not two hours after the surgery." The man looked at her, smashing out the butt of his cigarette in the ashtray._

  
_"And the body?"  
_

_She laughed. Cold, hard, anxious. "Sir, I took his body down to the morgue after several resuscitation attempts. I was then called by my colleagues to discuss the UN speech. After that I went to my hotel room and that morning I gave the speech…which I am certain you saw how that ended.” The man barely acknowledged if he did or didn’t. “I went to the hospital after that, finding it apparently had been attacked, swarmed with both Zurich and UN police forces. Reyes’ body and several other deceased were gone.”_

  
_The man nodded, another cigarette in his mouth. He eyes flicked over the papers and to her then back to the papers._

  
_"My god, what do you think I did?"_

  
_"You returned to the hospital and the body is gone." He looked at her, his eyes hard, blowing smoke out of his nose. She inhaled from her cigarette, taping ash on the table before blowing smoke in his direction._

  
_"Please, fill me in with your line of thinking." She was had been awake now almost 38 hours, bone tired, dried out of tears. "Because I am not following."_

  
_"Dr. Ziegler, did you know of Reyes ' motives at the Headquarters?"_

  
_"No." She said flatly._

  
_"Did you at all know what was going on between Reyes and Morrison?"_

  
_"There was a falling out. I tried to keep the peace between them, they were my good friends. Friends I must now bury." She said sharply. She then held up a finger. “Friends that I cannot even bury because they will not release what little they have of him and the other’s body is missing.”_

  
_"Did Reyes give you any hint his plans? Comments that didn't add up."_

  
_"Dear...god, you are trying to pin this on him. He was a good man. They both were!"_

  
_" A good man? Hardly, Dr. Ziegler. You know what Blackwatch did, if not then certainly now. I have to remind you that 300 people are dead, innocent people caught up a fight between your good friends. However it seemed like one took it further than the other." He looked over his papers._

_"What do you want from me? If you have no evidence of my "supposed" involvement with this, I would like to leave." He held up a finger to her before bringing out a holoplayer. She watched him as he started it up. The scene lit up against the wall, a blue hue that made her insides turn. The hospital bedroom. Gabriel on the bed. She was in the corner of the room, looking out the window. He fast forwarded through their argument, stopping as Gabe pulled her closer, their mouths moving with no sound. Her stomach twisted, heat rising up her body. He paused it as their lips interlocked._

 

_"I am beginning to think, you would have very good reason to try to protect him."_

  
_She looked at him and pushed the button staring the video back up. The last moments of Gabriel's life played out as she stared unblinking at the man as he watched, smoking the cigarette down. She paused it as the male nurses pulled her away._

  
_"Gabriel Reyes is dead. That was his blood on my face....on my hands. I tried to save him once. Twice. Three times. I failed. Where is your footage of his body going missing? I would like to see that. You still have not even let me see what you have found of Commander Morrison’s body!" Her voice was stern, quick as her posture was ridged. She took the burned down butt of the cigarette and smashed it into his papers, line of eyesight unbreaking. She stood up, grabbing her coat. "You will let me leave now." The man glared at her, wiping away the cigarette and the ash from his papers._

  
_"We aren't done here." He growled._

  
_"We are unless you have more proof than that of me kissing my colleague. Because if you think that scares me into giving you the answer you want to hear, you are wrong." He narrowed his eyes at her and she raised her head higher. He smirked and it made her nauseous._

  
_"Blackwatch was a covert ops branch of Overwatch. Many of its sins mirror that of terrorist organizations like Talon, perhaps even fueled it. Reyes was their leader, Dr. Ziegler."_

  
_She slammed her hand on the table and it stung. But she spoke slowly, not reacting. "Morrison and Reyes were my good friends from the very beginning. I did my job as a doctor. I tried to save a man and do the right thing, regardless if he did or not in life. Are we at an understanding? Or do you need further clarification?"_  
_He pushed a button on the edge of the table, the door sliding open._

  
_"Dr. Ziegler is finished giving her statement." He stated. She started out the door, "Dr. Ziegler...may I suggest a name change...something more fitting after what you created in that hospital." She glared at the man and turned away, not even glancing back._

  
_Outside, cold as ice. Inside, she was screaming._

_\--_

_“Someday, you’ll want to kill a man, cariño.” Gabe said, cigarette in the corner of his mouth, arms around hers as she held the blaster. She squinted one eye at the target. “Better do it right the first time.” His smell and the cigarette smoke fogged up her focus.  
_

_“I seriously doubt that.” She shook him off and looked back at him._

_She wasn’t aware he would be so right._

\--

 

3 months after the end of the Omnic Crisis:

She had been back in Zurich when Gabe and Jack showed up in the state hospital she worked at currently for the last 2 weeks while the rest of her colleagues came in and out of her life. She had been busy country-hopping, trying to help in the cleanup after the conclusion of the war. Humanitarian needs still needed to be met and she wished to be part of that. She wrapped her curls lazily around her fingers as she went over emails on one screen, deleting as she went and articles for pleasure reading on the other. She hadn’t taken the time to bleach and re-dye her hair, so much of it had returned to her natural dark brown. She thought about keeping it that way for a while. She adjusted her glasses before pulling them back on her head.

She heard a knock on her open door and turned to it.

  
"Dr. Ziegler, you look like you could use a break." Jack said. She smiled and shook her head. She stood to embrace them as Gabe closed the door behind them. Jack hugged her first, twisting with her a bit. She giggled before going into Gabe’s arms. He held her close as he kissed the top of her head, delicately.

  
“I like your hair.” He murmured.

  
“Thank you. But don’t get used to it. As soon as I have time, I’m getting it redone.”

  
“You need a break.” Jack informed her.

  
"Oh? I need a break?” She turned her eyes to him, removing her glasses from the top of her head and slipping them into her coat pocket. Jack leaned on Gabe and nodded. "What are you two planning? Come in and sit down." They did so, Gabe flipping his chair around first as she returned to her desk, saving the articles before turning off her screens. She spun around, knees crossed.

  
"We have a proposition, really." Gabe clarified.

  
"Oh...that sounds like…something." She raised her eyebrow, fingers interlaced on her knee.

  
"Well...it is something." Jack started clasping his hands as he leaned forward in his seat. "My mom and dad have wanted to meet you since I mentioned your name to sidestep some stuff and now, with this relative peace, they want to actually meet you." She looked between the two.

  
“Sidestep?” She asked cautiously. His lips tightened into a thin line anxiously.

  
“They don't know about me and Gabe like that. And..." He rubbed the back of his head. "And I can’t tell them, not yet.”

  
Angela leaned back in her ergonomic chair thinking. "So you would like me to be your girlfriend?” Their relationship was complicated but easy all at once, she still remained title-less. Friends with benefits? She mentally brushed away the thoughts for another time. Her jaw clenched a bit thinking about his family. Thinking about how little sense it made hurt her head.

  
"You're upset?" Jack asked, his blue eyes scanning her face.

  
"Not with you." She said.

  
"Angela, they are good folks it's just..." Jack started. “Well…some folks still live in the past about things. Robots, prosthetics, hovering cars are…different than… other people’s relationships.”

  
"My mom is the same way. She knows Jack but as my friend. When my sister came out it was rough at first..." Gabe spoke up. There was silence in the room. If alive, as much as she loved them, her parents too, would probably not be so accepting of her relationships. She tapped her fingers on her desk, making lists of pros and cons. Meeting Jack’s family would be nice, she…it had been a long time since she had been in a family setting. Her mind clicked to the next thought quickly, not to linger where it might begin to sting. She would be “pretending” in a way, she wasn’t a girlfriend but a friend who knew both intimately. It wasn’t really lying, was it then? Her foot bounced on the support of the chair.

  
"Of course, I'll do it." She agreed; she turned around back to her computer then back around to face them. “Both families?” She asked, pointing at them both. They both nodded as she slumped in her chair for a moment. “Scheiße.” She pulled her hair back. “Okay…okay meine süße Sachen. We can do this. It’ll be fun. I’ve only been to the US once.”

  
"Something else..." Gabe said as he pulled her chair over as he smiled. He kissed her with little warning. She blushed, kissing him back. "Besides...our familial obligations. We will have a lot of time...to ourselves."

  
"How much time?" She smiled slowly.

  
“Much more than we’ve had together in that last three months.” Jack started. “Which…was…”

  
“The Celebration Ball in Geneva.” Angela stated. Almost two months ago exactly. She counted for herself. The quick closet handjob with Jack a week after Celebration Ball. An even quicker, rougher with Gabe crossing paths at Watchpoint Gibraltar a month ago. One session of phone sex that ended abruptly two weeks later. Otherwise, they had been scattered to the wind like the other members who were trying to make sense of a rapidly changing world.

  
“Much more time.” Gabe repeated. “For us, together. Angela, we all need the time off. Just...a fucking break from Overwatch.” He was right. She needed a break; she had been running at full steam for a long time now between her own projects and Overwatch’s humanitarian missions. She looked at them both, her fingers to her lips.

  
“I have to clear it first. When are you planning on doing this?” She explained.

  
“In a few weeks.” Jack at once raised his hands in defense as she gave him a tired look. “It was sprung on me, okay? Ma turned on the waterworks.”  
“Your defense?” Angela looked at Gabe. He shrugged as an answer and she shook her head.

  
“I’ll see what I can do. Don’t hold your breath.”

  
\----  
“Aren’t you hot in that?” Angela asked looking at Gabriel in his hoodie. The airport was bustling and loud, the three of them practically invisible in the passing crowds. Just faces in a crowd, Angela glowed in the anonymity, quietly relished it. They took a seat at their gate and settled in for the wait of their delayed flight. Jack left his bag with her as he wandered off to the food court.

  
“You’ve been on planes before, Ang. They get cold. I don’t like being cold.”

  
“Well I guess I’ll be borrowing that from you then.” She smirked as she leaned against him. He rolled his eyes.

  
“You didn’t have to pull too many strings to get this time off right?”

  
“Not at all, they were surprised I didn’t ask for time off earlier.” She replied. He chuckled. Several folks were staring at them, mostly at Gabe. He grimaced at them and they turned their heads quickly. Angela sat up a bit. “What is it?”

  
“Folks just forgetting their manners.” He said gruffly pulling up his hoodie over his dark curls. Jack jogged back over to them. He carried a bag from a fast food place. Angela frowned a bit.

  
“Don’t...say a word. Vacation, alright.” He sat down next to her, putting his arm across the back of her chair, his fingertips touching Gabriel’s bicep. Gabe looked at the blonde.

  
“Lemme have my burger.”

  
Angela sat between them as they ate with her arms crossed over her chest, lips pursed as she shook her head.

  
“I got you some fries.”

  
“Thank you.” She said taking them, eating them one by one.

  
“Hypocrite…”Gabe said out the side of his mouth. She pinched his cheek as he tried to take another bite. He stuck his tongue out. “Try to be a little less doctor during this time, Doc.”

  
“Ooh, please don’t call me that.” She shook her head, laughing.

  
“That’s what we call you already, when you aren’t around.” Jack added. “Not like, what’s up Doc?”

  
“I don’t have nicknames for you.” She said, pointing at them with a fry. Gabriel bit it in half of it off. “Oh so unhöflich!” She laughed.

  
“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Jack assured her.

Gabe began to doze after eating, leaning against her, pulling his hoodie over his eyes; all of their internal clocks were off. Angela crowd watched as the men slept against her, eyes sometimes glancing up to the large displays reading of plane arrivals and departures alongside the news. She stroked the scars on Jack’s right hand; he murmured a little as she started massaging it.

  
The feeling of change had rolled her gut as soon as they had exited the Hub, as soon as the first cheer went out. At first she blamed it on blood loss and the ringing in her ears. But it sat with her, rolling like an ocean in the pit of her stomach. It was there at the Celebration Ball and every day since, even as she ignored it. She watched the way the light reflected against the windows of the food court; the clash of natural and artificial light, the colors, and the people passing nondescript as she searched her mind for a word to describe the feeling washing over her.

  
Is this what it felt like to stand at the end of one thing and the beginning of something else?

  
“Angela…” Jack whispered.

  
“Mhm?”

  
“You’re zoning out pretty bad.”

  
“I thought you were asleep.” She looked over him. “schläfrig Baby Vogel.”

  
“Haha, I’ve been spoiled in sleeping in more quiet quarters recently.” He sat up and stretched. Her eyes followed the muscles of his back and arms. “I don’t know as much German as Gabe. What did you call me?”

  
“Sleepy baby bird.” She smiled as he knitted his eyebrows in confusion and chuckled, rubbing his head. He leaned close to her and she blushed as his arm wrapped around her.

  
“Wanna know something about Gabe?”

  
“Alright…” They both looked at him conspiratorially before looking at each other. “Tell me.”

  
“Remember the first time we met, well you and I were already acquainted off and on for about a year then, but you meeting Gabe right?”

  
“I do remember. That was in Morocco right, the transport ship to Gibraltar?”

  
“Gabe was totally smitten.”

  
“No, you’re joking.” She shoved Jack playfully.

  
“Am not. You were talking to Reinhardt in German, making him crack up. We had just been a pretty rough way in Egypt, you were just talking and healing us. I introduced you as you healed that nasty wound on his back. ” She nodded a little bit. “When we arrived in Gibraltar and you kept going to Zurich, I noticed he had purchased a How to Speak German audio book. I bugged him ‘til he told me about it.”

  
“You are telling me a story.” She whispered, giggling.

  
“Yeah, a totally true one. I mean then we became really close friends.”

  
“…were you jealous?”

  
“Angela.” He snorted, rolling his eyes.

  
“I’m serious…” She stated, holding his hand.

  
“No, I wasn’t. I liked you too, Angela. I’m pretty sure at least half of Overwatch has felt the same way at one time or another. I mean it wasn’t until…what a year and half later…” She nodded about that evening in the Gibraltar medbay.

  
“Will he be mad because you told me?” She inquired.

  
“ No but he’ll act tough about it.” Jack smirked. She giggled and leaned close, whispering his ear. Angela leaned back in her chair, her eyebrows arched deviously as she looked at Gabe as he slept.

  
“Herr Hardcore…”

  
\--

  
After a few hours waiting on their flight it finally arrived, allowing for groggy and annoyed passengers to climb aboard to tight spaces. Angela sunk into her spot between the two men while Gabriel had claimed the window seat for himself. She smiled looking at Gabe waiting for him to get comfortable until she caught his eye.

  
“Gabriel…” She said in a sing-song tune. He removed his earbuds.

  
“What are you smirking at?”

  
“You started learning German after you met me? I feel flattered." Angela smiled, leaning close. His face at once changed, looking at Jack. Gabriel pulled his hoodie up over his head, putting his earbuds back in. He blushed beneath the cloth.

  
"Damnit Jack, I told you to not say anything. Pendejo." He muttered. She removed his right earbud, tinny rock blasting.

  
"No no, it's sweet. I just always assumed you knew it already. But because of me. Well..." she chuckled a little.

  
"It was...only dirty stuff. Still is." He huffed, their voices low as the AC blew and plane hummed as it taxied up to the runway behind several other planes.  
"Let me give you a lesson then." She purred. She leaned closer, moving his hoodie so she could speak in his ear. His face turned deep reddish brown and she still hadn't said anything yet. Jack was smirking in his aisle seat, pretending to be very interested in the skymall magazine.

  
“Ich weiß, du liebst der Chef zu sein. Aber wenn ich Sie zwei allein in diesem Seehaus bekommen wird das Spiel sehr unterschiedlich sein. Ich werde machen Sie singen, mein Schatz." Oh, christ. He shivered even as he felt like he was on fire, his hands stuffed in his hoodie pouch. She wasn't done. “Ich kaufte etwas sehr privat, etwas Neues." She rubbed his arm which he tensed at, feeling heat rise at the base of his stomach. He grunted trying to cover his mouth completely, his face burning up under the hoodie as he mentally translated. "Ich werde dich zu reiten. Sie werden so laut sein, werden wir Ihnen ruhig halten müssen. Jack wird gerne Ihre nuttig Mund verpflichten." Oh god, this is how he would die. Not on the battlefield, not by an enemy hand, no, by Angela whispering erotic little nothings in German into his ear in public. His cock was hard against his dark denim jeans, begging to be secretly handled beneath his hoodie. He ignored it as her warm breath lingered around him. She smelled so nice. His thoughts refused to come out straight. "Oh, die Dinge, die ich werde zu deinem fetten Arsch tun." Oh sweet mother of god. She smirked, hand touching his outer thigh. He almost whimpered, covering his mouth as he tensed. She slipped her hand into his hoodie pocket. His hands barred her from feeling how desperately he wanted all of that now and more. He would come if she touched him, wound tight like a rubber band twisted between two pencils. The plane began to speed up, the weightless feeling spreading to the rest of his body as it took off. "Gabriel..."Her voice was different, still close. ”Relax."

  
"You wind me up like a to-" He growled. The people in front of them stirred.

  
"And you love it." She murmured. He did, she had his number. She looked around. "Well I rather not get in trouble. So..." she leaned very, very close. "Torbjorn in a speedo."

  
The mental image succeed in freeing him of any arousal. She laughed, seeing his expression change and patted his knee before she looked to Jack and put out her hand. He high fived her. God he was in on it the whole time. Sneaky, terrible. Wonderful. Her hand returned to his hoodie pocket, holding his hand in hers. Soon she was asleep against him. Jack looked at him a little, a small smug smile stretched on his face. Gabe flicked him off quietly, still blushing. Jack spread his legs a bit and glanced back at Gabe. Gabe mouthed ‘puta’ at him and Jack feigned shock, smirking still. Gabe turned away and looked out the plane window. Seven more hours on this plane and all he could think about were Angela's whispered nothings. He hoped to God they were more than that. He had to keep thinking of things to turn him off.

  
He thought about dealing with upcoming family obligations. Ah, yeah. That did the job.

  
\---

  
Groggily moving from the cramped spaces of the plane, huddled along with other passengers out of the terminal to the baggage carousals. The sun was up and blinding, Angela shut her eyes and scrunched her nose as Gabe and Jack took turns getting their luggage. They took the standing room only train, passing through other parts of the large international airport, New York City appearing distant through the haze of Newark, to reach the rental car place nearby. A few people seemed to recognize Jack’s face on the train asking for autographs. Angela stood aside with Gabriel, watching the city pass by and planes come and go, rocking back and forth.

  
“He’s got that Golden Boy charm.” Gabe muttered. Angela gently bumped him with her shoulder.

  
“Do you really want people talking to you?” She asked, raising her brows at him.

  
“…nope.” He admitted, she slipped her arm in his free one, chuckling a little. “Angela…”

  
“Mhm?”

  
“Thanks for coming with us. We put you in a weird place.”

  
“You’re welcome, Gabriel.” She replied. “I’m glad to help my friends.”

  
“Angela…” He sighed, the train stopped with a jerk, passengers bobbing into each other as the door slide open on either side. “This is us. Come on, white bread.”  
Jack went off to talk to the rental salesman as Angela and Gabe stood by the car they had chosen. The day was humid but Gabriel remained in his hoodie. Angela took her phone from her purse and looked at it, seeing she had received a message from Ana:

_Hello darling,  
_ _I know it’s…at least 6 hours ahead there. I hope you are having a good time with those boys. Don’t let them run you around. I wanted to send you a video of Fareeha’s birthday from earlier today. She loves her dress, she says it makes her feel like an adult. Take care of yourself, habibi._

 

Attached to the text was a picture of little Fareeha wearing light green sundress holding balloons, beaming up towards her mother’s camera. Angela tapped it and the video began to play of Fareeha speaking rapidly in Arabic, spinning in her dress. She could hear Ana’s voice in the background. Fareeha giggled and curtsied, wobbly in her pink jelly sandals.

  
“Thank you, Dr. Angela.” She waved and smiled, missing two baby teeth. The video ended. She caught Gabe watching. He didn’t look away.

  
“Ana’s kid? Cute.”

  
“Very…I sent her that dress for her birthday. I…don’t really know what to get an 11 year old. Goodness, she looks so much like Ana.” He nodded in agreement. She tucked her hair behind her ear and put her phone back into her purse. She would respond later, hopefully not waking the other woman. “What is taking him so long?”

  
“Someone probably recognized him, now he’s signing anything those people can hand him.” Gabe said. “Get comfortable, chica.”

  
“I can’t. Seeing you in that hoodie in this weather is making me ill.” She said pulling at his sleeve, fanning herself for dramatics. He made no move to take it off. She put her purse down on the ground next to the car. She reached over across his torso and placed her hand on either hip. He raised his scarred eyebrow at her as she walked him closer to her. She reached up gently and took off his hood off his head, stroking his curls between her fingers. He bent down and kissed her, softly calling her sweet and darling in Spanish. She smiled cheeks aflame, touching the scars that ran sideways across his face.

  
"Do I look scary?"

  
"To others maybe, Jack und ich weiß, dass Sie ein süßes und guter Mensch sind."

  
"Sweet? Angela..." He laughed, shaking his head.

  
"Oh ja du bist! Ich kenne. Sie verstecken es." He seemed to take a moment to translate. The scars paled against his flushed skin. "Please take off that hoodie; I'm worried you'll get heat stroke. You do not have to be tough around us."

  
Jack returned with a few water bottles and two maps. He watched Gabe pull off the hoodie as it took most of his shirt up with it. He tugged it down and took one of the bottles from Jack.

  
"Jack, yer a big slut. What took so long?" He said, bringing the bottle to his lips. Jack only pretended to be taken aback, handing a bottle to Angela. "Maps, we have GPS, cariño."

  
"Folks recognized me.” Gabe looked at Angela and nodded; an I-told-you-so look. “And maps…they make me feel nostalgic." Jack said, defensively as he opened one up against the car. The entire US unfolded before them. Gabe shook his head in defeat but held up the west coast past of the map. "So first to Lake Placid up here..." He pointed up through New York, almost at the border of Canada. “Then in 3 days it will…take us about, hm…”

  
“Jaack…let’s go. How am I gonna tell my family I spent more than an hour in New Jersey?” Gabe said impatiently. Jack rolled his eyes.

  
\----

  
“Got the keys.” Gabe said sliding back into the passenger seat. Angela yawned in the backseat and rubbed her eyes, stirring from her short nap from the local grocery store. The sky was turning dark blue as the sun began to set over the hills.

  
“We’re here?” She asked, leaning forward between the front seats.

  
“We just got the keys from the rental place. We are number 17, keep an eye out for that.” They drove through the two lane road, passing different sized lake houses on either side ranging from the extravagant to the quaint, spaced out beneath sprawling lawns and tall swaying trees. People could be seen out on the lit porches and balconies, grilling and generally partying.

  
"Number 17. That's us." Angela pointed to the cream-colored bungalow with a wraparound balcony on stilts at the edge of the water. It was similar to the three other nearby, built around the same time and by the same builder, most likely owned by the same leaser. They parked the car underneath the cover of the balcony. Underneath, there was an outdoor shower, supply closet, and trash bins. Gabe parked the car and Angela practically jumped out on to the gravel road with a crunch. "Oh gott, so good to be out of that car." She stretched out before asking Gabe to open the trunk. She started taking out the groceries as Gabe jogged up the wooden steps to the front door. Angela noticed the family next door grilling on their own balcony: Two mothers and their daughters who were singing loudly and off-key. Angela couldn't help but smile.

  
"Doc?" Jack asked.

  
"Just watching the family over there." She pointed with her chin; her arms were full of bags. He took several with her as the sun began to set. They walked up to the second floor; Gabe had left the door open for them as well as the porch light. The house was small and quaint. Dark woods mixed with navy tile backsplash and linoleum flooring in the kitchen. The living room across from it was filled up by a light brown l-shaped couch and love seat set sat in front of a dated TV. Angela set down the groceries on the small island and started sorting out where the food would go. Jack already was taking a beer out of its cardboard box. Gabe came out of the restroom down the hall, cracking his neck.

  
"The master bathroom has a Jacuzzi tub." He stated, grabbing an apple as Angela put things away. He wiped it on his hoodie and bit into it. "I'll get the suitcases." He said with a mouthful. Jack followed him close behind, grabbing the other man’s waist playfully.

  
Once everything was away she collapsed on the couch, slipping out of her flats and digging her feet into the cushion. She thought about turning on the TV but somehow her hand didn’t make it to the remote. Her head nodded heavily, eyelids weighed down until she was asleep on the couch.  
The two men thought it was best not to move her; Jack covered her in the blanket from the extra bedroom.

  
\--

  
Angela stood on the balcony the next evening, watching the family of the rental house next to theirs, set up for dinner. Fourth of July on the lake, in the US. The war was over. Of course, there was hard work still to do but it seemed like the world had sighed in deep relief. Shouldn't they be able to as well, she asked herself, as her thoughts started digging into the things that she needed to do.

  
She took a sip from the "girlie" drink in her hand, as Gabe called it even as he had taken one as well, admiring the two mothers and their small but boisterous family. She didn't usually drink but it was a special occasion. Gabe stood at the grill with Jack, quietly talking to each other. Jack was speaking Spanish, American accent thick on the words that needed to be a thin. Gabe laughed, correcting him, small pecks shared between them. Gabe even in the lingering heat of the evening wore a hoodie and his beanie. They drank beer that’s taste honestly reminded her of piss and she refused to drink it.

  
For a moment she felt like a camera that had followed these two men along, taking pictures and video, storing it away to some unknown place. She patted down her hair which had grown frizzy in the humidity. A new feeling sat in her chest, making a home in her ribcage. Not jealousy, not envy nor anxiety. She wasn’t sure.  
"Mom when is the fireworms?" She heard a shrill voice of a child.

  
"Fireworks. Soon." The mother corrected. Yes where were these fireworks? She wondered leaning on the wooden railing. She wanted to see this great big American show. Of course it had been fireworks and parades and celebrations for almost a full month with no signs of slowing.  
"Whatcha looking at?" Jack said slipping his arm around her waist.

  
"I'm waiting on your fireworks." She said. He snickered a bit. The children the house over started banging on the wooden table and chanting fireworms. The house two down, a rowdy bunch started loud rounds of "USA!" and drunken rendition of the chorus of Queen's We Will Rock You. Jack laughed more. One of the drunken woman pulled off her top and started spinning it much to of the annoyance of the two mothers.

  
"...a little...stereotypical" Jack chuckled as the sky lit up red and white. The houses at the water’s edge erupted in oohs and aahs. Off in the distance, over the hill, a band played; only faintly heard under the booming sky. Loud and colorful, beauty in explosives.

  
"Burgers are ready." Gabe said. Jack felt like stone against her.

  
"Jack... food is ready." She patted his hand on her waist. He seemed to be zoning out, his posture rigid. "John." She clarified with his first name, her voice stern and worried. He turned and looked at her, slowly. His gaze a thousand miles away. "Hey...it's alright. Gabe," she turned to call over the other man who was suddenly at their side. "...how about we eat inside? Okay."

  
Jack was still tense. Gabe handed her the plate of burgers.

  
"Sorry, take these, and open the door for us alright?" He asked. She nodded doing what he asked. He spoke to the other man calmly, soft Spanglish before easily picking him up. Angela checked the grill once more to make sure it was off, carrying the plate with her as she opened the sliding door. He carried him over him over the threshold bridal style and to the bedroom. She headed into the bathroom after putting the plate in the kitchen to look through her bag dedicated to medications and other in case stuff. She could hear Gabe talking to Jack slowly and steady. She returned to Gabe's side with her bag and a glass of water.  
"I have anxiety medication, it’s more of a sedative however. Needs to be taken with food and water. He might be alright with just water."

  
"You really do have everything in there. That should be fine." He said, playful yet tense, as she opened her personal bottle and put half white pill down in Gabe's palm and the glass of lukewarm water in the other. She stood by and watched Gabe coax Jack into taking it. She stood silently over the bed, Jack looking past them both, rigid and silent. Gabe sat with him for a while, holding his hand.

  
He started drifting off, falling asleep sitting up. Gabe moved him to his side, looking at Angela.

  
“We should let him rest.“

  
\--

  
"Sometimes, certain things come back. Hit us the wrong way. The brain and body try to defend themselves." She said as they sat on the porch after the show. Gabe took her hand in his. It was warm, clammy and rough but nice, familiar.

  
"Crowds...sometimes do me wrong." He explained. "Have to pull back from it all. It was at the Celebration Ball… when both us noticed...we were off. The first firework went up and Jack froze on me. Took him a little bit to get him back around."

  
"I...feel bad. I had assumed it was other reasons." she whispered.

  
“Heh, that was at first…then the panic attacks. They, the military… still don't do a good job talking us through that. May lose an arm, hell maybe all your limbs but now you may also be scarred in your mind, forever." Gabe said, leaning back in the deck chair, her hand still in his. "He thought he was doing better with it. I think he was excited even to watch the show." Angela traced the circle scar on her thigh with her free hand, pale brown scraggly thing at the edge of her shorts leg. She had it too, perhaps smaller and quieter, perhaps better taken care of. Sleep sometimes evaded her; she would wake up on edge. Certain sounds reminded her rouge omnics, made her freeze for a moment or two. Set her skin ablaze with sweat. Her thumb rubbed the top of his hand as she thought.

  
"Should we call it a night?" She asked watching the lights in the nearby houses shut off.

  
"Yeah...it's been...a long 24 hours, huh." He said, letting go of her hand and swing his legs out of the chair. They entered the house and turned off the porch light. They began cleaning up in the kitchen. "Angela...why’d you sleep on the couch last night?"

  
"I was just so tired. Kind of slept where I fell." She said, packing away the food. He washed off the dishes quietly.

  
"...you'll sleep with us tonight right?" He asked. She turned and looked back at him. He had put down the towel on the counter.

  
"If you want me too. Is the bed big enough?"

  
"Angela, Jack and I shared bunks and cots. This bed is a queen. It'll be fine."

  
"Alright..."she said. He picked the towel back up and put away the cups, drying off his hands.

  
"Were you really going to sleep in the extra bedroom?"

  
"Well..."

  
"Mi dulce..." He turned her around, kissing her cheeks and then her lips. "Please...sleep with us tonight. It will be like the medbay." She leaned against his chest, hugging him. Heat settled deep into her stomach but her eyes drifted away from his. "Something wrong?"

  
"What am I to you both?"

  
"Aye, Ang..." He pulled his curls back flat on the top of his head. They bounced a little when he let them go. "Tú eres mi chica, mi carino,¿no? Jack's sweetheart, make a country boy like him blush." She blushed a bit as he tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "I mean...I know we never said anything...official. Is that-?"

  
"Nein, nein. I want this. This..." she put her hands on his chest and then to hers. "This closeness. This... dieser Raum dazwischen Liebe und Freundschaft. Yes? Ich habe mich noch nie so etwas vor. I just needed to hear it." He took a moment to translate before nodding, leaning down to kiss her. She kissed him back, bringing her arms up to his shoulders, behind his neck.

  
\--

  
Jack woke up against Angela's shoulder. He sat up on his elbow and looked at her in the dark, startled for a moment, making out the curve of her cheek and nose in very early morning light. Her breathing was slow and steady, right arm hanging out over the edge of the bed, her left hand on her chest. He felt a warm hand on his back.

  
"Hey...you okay?" Gabe's voice was groggy. Jack turned around slowly, not to stir Angela. He faced Gabe in the dark. "Hey..." the other man stroked his hair and ran his fingers along his chin.

  
"I thought I was doing better." Jack whispered.

  
"It's not going to be over night, mi corazon." Gabe rubbed his shoulder gently. Jack pulled himself against Gabe's shirtless chest. His fingers ran across Gabe’s many scars, most from the Crisis, a few from before then. "Unfortunately, Angela's biotech doesn't work on the brain. No easy fix for that." Gabe's hand was in his hair, fluffing it gently.

  
"Hold me, please. Tight." Jack murmured. Gabe moved closer towards him, his thick arms embraced him tight. Jack tensed at first before Gabe kissed his cheek. He rested his head against the crook of Gabe’s neck. The tension throughout his body released and he slackened.

  
“Better?” He asked, Jack feeling his words vibrate against his forehead.

  
“Yes…thanks, Gabe.” They laid in stillness as the sunlight began to spread through the blinds; he faded in and out of sleep. “You make me feel good…” Jack whispered.

  
“Mhmm.” The other man murmured.

  
“I feel safe.” Jack said quieter. Gabe ran his hands through his hair.

  
“You gettin’ sentimental on me, Jack?”

  
“I mean it, asshole.” Jack snorted as he laughed against Gabe’s shoulder. Gabe kissed his cheek again.

  
“You make me feel safe, too. Always got my back, huh?”

  
“Always, Gabe.”

  
\--

  
Angela was the first to stir from the bed, getting up and squatting over her suitcase looking for her essentials for the morning before remembering she had already put the guest bathroom. She groggily got up and stepped around the heavily cushioned chair and out the door into the hall to the guest bathroom. She brushed her teeth and used the restroom, regretting that she didn’t put her hair up the night before as she untangled it in the mirror. She tied Gabe’s large shirt tight around her waist in the back with a hair tie. She examined her face and bared her teeth before yawning again. She could probably slip back into bed and catch a few more well-deserved z’s. She wandered back into room, head down and feet heavy.

  
She heard a soft gasp from Jack, her eyes connecting to the shape of the two men wrapped in each other and the blankets of the bed. Gabe laid beneath Jack, mouthful of Jack’s tongue with a fistful of his hair, his thick thigh between the blonde man’s legs, pushing against Jack’s briefs. Jack moaned into Gabe, pushing back against the thigh. She stepped back, still finding it hard to look away from their mixed forms clashing. She finally moved out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen. She had left the door open, partly not to make noise, mostly for herself. She listened to them talk amidst the other noises, not actually hearing what they said. She got herself a glass of water, attempting to dowse the fire building up in the pit of her stomach and between her thighs. She took a long sip.  
“Mercy…” Jack said, leaning against the wall. His hair was tussled and bunched in some areas. She could see the outline of his cock in his briefs.  
“Jack?” She asked after taking a longer sip than intended. She wiped her mouth. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  
“Interrupt?” He repeated, half-smirking. “Hardly, we were waiting for you. Come here.” He put his hand out to her. She put the glass down on the counter before taking his hand. She followed him back down the hallway. Gabe sat, leaning forward on the edge of the bed.

  
“Mornin’.” He said easily, leaning back, his legs spread. His cock thick and tight in his boxers. He clicked his tongue. She sat down on the small couch. “Wanna watch?”

  
“…are you alright with that? I had wanted to give you some…time to yourselves.”

  
“We’d prefer it, actually.” Jack stated. Gabe nodded.

  
Angela watched Gabriel slowly strip Jack down, her legs tucked up to her chest, her toes curling into the cushion. She bit her lip. God, she loved it. Jack gasped as Gabe pulled him close. He was already at half mast, pressing against Gabe's thighs.

  
"Oh Gabe, don't tease me." He whimpered. Gabe chuckled, kissing Jack's neck. Jack pushed against him eagerly. "Please...I..."

  
"Mhm, no can do. We promised the good doctor a show. And by god, we have this lovely little place to ourselves, near the lake, in the woods. And you can be as loud as you want." Gabe stroked along his jawline. Jack looked over at Angela and smiled a little bit. She smiled back, her face red. "Attention here.” He turned Jack's face to him, kissing the man deeply. Jack opened his mouth slowly, leaning into the kisses as Gabe rocked him closer. Jack was loud and he finally could be. Gabe egged him on, whispering into his ear, grabbing his ass.

  
"Gabe...fuck me please.... please..." He moaned, nails digging into the other man's back. "I've missed it..." He was breathy and desperate. He wanted to be fucked senseless. Angela had seen them standing, bleeding, victorious; now draped against each other. Her hips twisted.

  
Gabriel never played fair. "Tell me, Ang. Should I give him what he wants?" Angela shook her head slowly, ‘no’. Jack groaned, cock in Gabe's palm, thighs twitching. She took a condom from on top of the top of the drawer.

  
"Blow him til he's close." She murmured, opening a condom slowly. She passed it to him as he smirked. He made an ‘o’ with his mouth, placing the cap to his tongue. Jack whimpered expectantly. Gabe began to maneuver the condom on Jack's dick using his mouth and tongue. Of course, Gabe would turn such a submissive act into one where he held all the power.

  
"Gabe... G-Gabriel." Jack grabbed his hair as he leaned forward slowly. Gabe took him slowly, holding the other man's thighs. He began to move back and forth, tongue working up the length. Angela watched, her fingers to her lips as Jack's eyelashes fluttered, he was getting closer.  
Gabriel slipped his mouth off Jack's cock as Jack whimpered and begged for him to finish. Gabe pushed him down on the bed. Angela got up slowly. Both men paused, panting. She opened a condom, sinking down to ground, and repeated what Gabe did to Jack. Gabe gulped as she started slipping off his boxers, his cock dropping forward, half hard. Already wet. His breathing became heavier; his hands behind his back as she pulled her lips off with a pop and rolled the rest up with her fingers, pumping him several times. A soft whimper broke out of his mouth. She stood back up and returned to her seat.

  
Gabe sucked his teeth as he reached and picked up the bottle on top of the bedside table. He raised Jack's legs one at a time on to either hip. He started talking to Jack again, lubing his fingers up. Jack grasped the sheets in anticipation, bucking as Gabe entered two fingers in slowly. His chest heaved as Gabe stretched him out talking him through it, calling him pretty. Jack just moaned. A third finger added. Jack bucked again, trying to pull Gabe against him. He whined and whimpered, Gabe finally entering him. Slow at first, one hand on his stomach. The other holding his back up. Jack seemed desperate to take him all at once, getting his wish as Gabe was on top of him. Angela watched, legs unconsciously opening. It was tender and animalistic at the same time, Jack's cock still hard against Gabe's stomach as Gabe rode him roughly; hard sloppy kisses punctuated by Gabe's heavy breathing and Jack's shaky moans. Jack clawed onto Gabe's back which only seemed to egg Gabe on into further frenzy, breaking their kisses into hot bites along Jack's white throat. He reached up and grabbed Jack's blond hair.

  
"You like that huh, pretty boy?" He growled in Jack's ear. “So full with me, yeah?" Jack panted, rutting against Gabe's belly. Gabriel smirked wickedly, lovingly. He pushed deeper and Jack gasped. "Every night you were almost begging." He bit Jack's ear gently. "Desperate for my attention. Mhm, fuck Jack."  
Jack yelped against Gabe's teeth, pulling him closer. Angela was trying to keep herself together. She had ruined her underwear. Her legs spread wide, feet on the floor. She could feel herself, pulsing hungrily but she refused to touch herself. Gabe pumped in and out of Jack, the bed creaking beneath them. She could hear Jack begging, louder and louder. His breath hitched from deep within.

  
"Oh god, Gabriel" He grunted. "Fuckingmm..." whatever he had planned to say was lost to moans as he bucked against Gabe's stomach and coming against him, condom still on. Jack's limbs fell slack against the bed as he panted. Gabe breathed heavy, still full and heavy inside Jack. Jack pulled him close for sloppy, slobbery kisses, glowing like the sun. His strokes were slow and thoughtful, pulling Jack back into arousal. After a few moments, his cock was growing attentive again. Gabe moaned in Jack's clavicle, coming noisily. Jack pulled him into longer, deeper kisses. Angela's cunt ached against the wet fabric of her underwear, barely able to keep the soft whimper from leaving her lips. Jack and Gabe both looked back at her. Gabe smiled, licking his lips. She pulled her underwear to the side to show her glistening pussy before lifting Gabe’s baggy black shirt over her hazel skin.

  
Gabe slid out of Jack gently, removing his condom and Jack's carefully. Jack panted, half-hard. He bit his lip watching her trying so hard not to touch herself, her hips wriggling in her seat as she removed her underwear. He pulled Gabe close whispering in his ear. Gabe helped him sit up. He walked over to Angela before kneeling between her legs, leaning forward. Her hand stopped his head, fingers mussing his hair.

  
"Magic words, darling slut..." she said breathlessly. Her eyes were half lidded as she smiled.

  
"May i, please?" He asked.

  
"Please... do." She released his head letting him sink into the embrace of her thighs. He looked up at her as his tongue felt around curiously. Gabe watched from the bed as she ground into Jack's mouth. It wasn't taking her much to get closer and closer. She whimpered, pushing forward as he explored deeper. "J-Jack..."  
He could feel her tensing around him as she gasped. He was doing something right. He licked deeper, hand at her clit.

  
It was one lick too many as she groaned out, back arching grasping his hair. She rocked a bit more, holding his head there before she went slack in the chair, sighing wistfully. Her skin flushed darker and warmer. Jack pulled his mouth away, lips covered in her cum, dick twitching eagerly, wet again.  
"Angela, may....may i?" He whispered. She looked down at him. She hadn't let either of them enter her during the time of their relationship. In truth, there hadn't been time and she was usually anxious. Gabe had sat up on the bed watching them. She finally nodded, hand searching for their 3rd condom within the hour. Jack kissed along her public mound and then her stomach. She was still anxious, her eyes meeting Gabe's. Jack put the condom on himself, looking up at Gabe as he walked passed him, back around the chair to kiss Angela's sweaty forehead. Jack started to enter her.

  
"Relax Angela, don't tense up. Don't hold your breath." Gabe said in her ear. She looked up at the ceiling breathing through her nose. She was already so slick, it shouldn't be a problem, she told herself. Gabe stroked her hair as Jack attempted not to rush her. This shouldn't be so hard, she closed her eyes. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and Jack stopped.

  
"I-i didn't say stop." She whimpered.

  
"Angela, you're crying." Jack rubbed her inner thigh.

  
"I know, I know. Just...keep going, slowly please." She panted. "It hurt you too...right?"

  
"The first time...yeah. ." He grunted a little, not into the hilt but nearly. She felt full, it hurt but it was good too. "F-fuck..." He groaned a bit as she tightened around him experimentally; he leaned against the chair's arm. Slowly, he pulled back. She gritted her teeth, eyes still closed. He thrust steadily, back and forth. Good, good, bad, great, good, no, terrible, good again. She wasn't going to come from this, she had accepted that. How did others with vaginas do this?!

  
"Nein, nein... I can’t." She finally gasped putting her hands on his shoulders. Jack nodded starting to pull out of her. The fullness, which felt good, was gone and now only aching was left. "I'm sorry." He kissed her nose as she closed her eyes. She pulled down the shirt she wore.

  
"I'm sorry." He said to her softly.

  
"No...I ruined the mood." She whispered. Jack shook his head and kissed her lips.

  
"Shh, don't be silly." His voice hitched a little.

  
"Go finish yourself." Gabe's voice said. She could hear Jack stand up, his bare feet slapping into the tiled bathroom. She was picked up in Gabe's arms and he laid her down in the middle of the bed.

  
"Want a clean pair?" He asked, picking up a clean pair of underwear from her bag . She shook her head, eyes still closed. She could hear him slip into his boxers before getting into the bed, curling around her.

  
"I did ruin the mood." She whispered, his hand on her back, rubbing in circles. He was so warm. Jack came back into the room wearing his briefs and one of Gabe's shirts.

  
"You tried something, you weren't ready for it. You didn't ruin anything." Gabe said quietly to her. Jack sat down next to her before squeezing on to the bed. She made room for him, her lower half protested. Jack rested his hand on her hip. She turned over on her back with a slight grimace and looked at both of them, sighing.

  
“Ich brauche einen advil und einen Mund an meinem Kitzler.” She whispered. They both looked at each other.

  
“I understand mouth on clit.” Gabe said, sitting up, winking at her and slipping down, out of her sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scheiße =shit  
> meine süße Sachen = my sweet things  
> Oh so unhöflich!= Oh so rude!  
> schläfrig Baby Vogel= sleepy baby bird  
> Herr Hardcore= Mister Hardcore  
> Ich weiß, du liebst der Chef zu sein.= I know you love to be the boss.  
> Aber wenn ich Sie zwei allein in diesem Seehaus bekommen wird das Spiel sehr unterschiedlich sein. = But when I get you two alone at the lake house, it will be a different game.  
> Ich werde machen Sie singen, mein Schatz. = I will make you sing, my darling.  
> Ich kaufte etwas sehr privat, etwas Neues.= I have bought something very private, something new.  
> Ich werde dich zu reiten. = I'm going to ride you.  
> Sie werden so laut sein, werden wir Ihnen ruhig halten müssen.= You wil be so loud, we'll have to keep you quiet.  
> Jack wird gerne Ihre nuttig Mund verpflichten= Jack will be happy to oblige your slutty mouth.  
> Oh, die Dinge, die ich werde zu deinem fetten Arsch tun.= Oh the things I'll do to your fat ass.  
> Jack und ich weiß, dass Sie ein süßes und guter Mensch sind.= Jack and I know that you are a sweet and good person.  
> Oh ja du bist! Ich kenne. Sie verstecken es. = Oh yes you are! I know. You understand.  
> cariño= sweetheart/sweetie/darling  
> Tú eres mi chica, mi carino= you are my girl, my sweetheart  
> dieser Raum dazwischen Liebe und Freundschaft= this space between love and friendship.  
> Ich habe mich noch nie so etwas vor= I have never felt anything like this before.  
> Ich brauche einen advil und einen Mund an meinem Kitzler.= I need an advil and a mouth on my clit.  
> \------  
> Laptop issues and health issues kept me from posting this last night and earlier this morning. Very stressful and tiring.  
> Thank you so much for your patience.


	9. All-American Summer: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tw for sucidical ideation by proxy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, it's been a long time. Thank you for understanding. I hope it won't be such a huge gap every time between updates. My laptop is still ruined and my roommate is nice enough to be letting me use her desktop.  
> This chunk was going to be a 3-parter but nothing ever goes to plan, so it's looking like a 4-parter.

     Angela waded in to the lake after slipping off the cheap flip flops at edge of the water. She sunk down into coolness up to her neck. Her gaze drifted over to the family again. The two children were wearing flotation devices, mercilessly splashing their mothers as they laughed. Something pulled deep in her gut and she dunked herself underwater. Clock is ticking, her brain crooned. She came back up for air. Jack peered over the edge of the deck. "How is it?"

  
   “Little cold...but refreshing."

   "Can I jump in?"

   "That's dangerous." She replied. He laughed at her. What had they just been doing? He jumped in, splashing her in a huge wave. He came up, pushing back the hair in his eyes before scooping her up in his arms. She laughed loud and kissed his wet cheek before splashing him. "You are trouble."

   "Kissing!" The children squealed. Angela giggled as the mothers shared a kiss too. "No! Ma, eww!!"

\--

   "My fingers are all prune-y...where is Gabe, I thought he said he was coming in too." She floated on her back. She sat up, alone, kicking her feet to stay afloat. "Jack? Jack, don't try to scare me." She looked around, the family gone now and the lake now otherwise quiet. Overhead, she noticed the sky growing dark; deep, distance rumbles of thunder stirred. She looked down, seeing two pale hands reach up from the darkness of the water, grabbing her waist and pulling her down, underneath. She spun and kicked, bubbles rising around them as they came back up. "Jack!” She smacked his chest, she assumed leaving more a sting against her fingers than his pectorals.

   "Haha...you didn't even notice." He laughed. She splashed him, cursing in German as she fixed her bikini bottom. The darkened clouds made their way over the valley, thunder coming closer. "We should head back in." His arms were back around her.

  
   "What are you doing, Mister Morrison?" He swam with to the shallow edge and lifted her up like she weighed nothing to him, stepping out of the water. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up to the sky as the clouds swelled and darkened above the canopy. “Oh, my flip-flops.” She pointed down to them. He rolled his eyes and bent down so she could pick them up. “Danke.”

   He walked them to the outdoor shower, a small wooden box with cement floor situated a little ways from the storage closet, cut off from sight by surrounding tall wooden fences. She took off her top and turned on the water, jumping back from the chill, covering her breasts. Jack smirked as he watched her step back into the shower flow. They stood under the clean water flow, showering off the natural muck and debris that gathered in lakes, listening to the storm grow closer.

   "Jack..." she said quietly as they toweled off.

   "Mhm?" He said, towel on his head, otherwise naked. 

   "...Well," she put her hands on her bare hips and then let them hang loose. She wrapped the towel around her chest and crossed her arms. "Have you...ever thought about...children?" He lifted the towel from his head and looked over her with those bright blue eyes. "I mean...at...some future date."

   "Angela..." 

   "Jack. I just...I do have a deadline, biological speaking. If...that is a route taken.” She put her fingers to her lips. “I still need more time to think. Hrmm, forget I brought it up." He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Jack..."

   "Ang, I'd never expect..." he laughed, his face and body flushed from the warm shower. She shushed him, pushing at him playfully. "Can't drop bomb like that and try to pack it all back up." 

   "Aaah, no no, forget I mentioned it!" She shook her head, damp curls hitting his bare chest. "No...no...dear gott, I cannot. Too many variables. The world still...rebuilding." He held her tight though, face in her wet hair. 

   "World's always rebuilding, Ziegler...kids being born anyway...every war and every crisis." He kissed her forehead, pushing back her hair behind her ear. The thunder was now much louder. They heard the back sliding door opened and Gabe stomp across the wooden deck.

   "Hey! Storm’s coming in! Where are you?"

   "Be right up." Jack yelled. Gabriel jumped a bit.

   "Pinche...Christ..."Gabriel said, quieter, not expecting them to be right beneath him. ”Hurry up, I want to make dinner.” His shadow crossed over them, the sliding door opened and closed.

   "Got it." He looked back at Angela. "How many were you thinking?" He kissed her cheek, "One?" He kissed her other cheek, "Two?" Her face brightened as he kissed her a third time. "Three, doctor? You aren't stopping me…" 

   "Nein, nein! Goodness." She put her finger to his lips before he kissed her again. "...no-oo-o." 

   "Alright, alright. Come on.” He pulled his towel around his hips. "...I know you will tell Gabe." She said drying her hair as they walked to the stairs. _You tell each other everything._

  "How do you know-" He started but looked at her expression. "Right..." 

   "...if it comes up, tell him...yes, it's in my mind but there are a lot of question marks around it and it's been crossed out a few times but I erased that then crossed it out again.” 

   "So it’s not a no?” 

    “Jaa-ack.” 

     ---

     "Where were you?" Angela asked walking into the kitchen, changed into shorts and loose top. Jack followed her, pulling on a tight t-shirt. Jeopardy played in the background. Gabe was filling a pot with water, his face hard. He put it down roughly on the stove top as she leaned on the island, resting her chin on her hand and watched him bang around a bit more while Jack sat down on the stool next to her. They shared a glance. 

   "Mom caught me on the phone..."Gabe finally replied. “My phone died, so then I had to sit next to the outlet and talk to her." 

   "Oh, is everything alright? I'm sorry, I should have come up-"

   "No, it was good you didn't. I was...getting testy. And of course, everything is fine. My mother just doesn't know how to handle a changing world sometimes." He turned on the burner. Jack looked over to see the glass ashtray, filled with cigarette butts on the other end of the counter. "My sister, Monica, I trust her with my life. She's the only one out to the family. She knows about me and Jack, covered for us before, covering for us now too.” Jack nodded. “She just bought a gay bar downtown and opened up to the family about being engaged to a woman with two kids. My mother is..." He clenched a fist before opening it, palm to the ceiling. "Losing it. I had planned to come out to her during this trip." He sighed. Angela walked around the island, putting her hand on his back and rubbed his shoulder blade. He was still tense but he softened to her touch. She leaned her head between his shoulder blades and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  "What are you making?" She murmured, in attempt to steer his mind elsewhere. 

  "Spaghetti...meat sauce." His voice was still terse. The wooden spoon clanked against the pan, breaking up the raw ground beef. "It smells good...really nice. Do you want some help?"

  "No, just stay there." He said. She stayed quiet as he moved only a little, listening to him breath, swear, and cook. She heard Jack throwing away the contents of the ashtray. “…tell me about your family, please.” She asked, feeling her voice warble a little. Just a bit. She hadn’t permitted that. She cleared her throat into his spine. “Please, so I have a better idea.” She said with a straighter, clearer voice. “Your siblings.” She looked back at Jack. “Yours too.” Jack nodded.

  “ ’ight…” He sighed. “I have an older brother, only by a few years. My mom had him in her first marriage. He is…what’s that word…young urban-?”

   “Yuppie.” Jack intervened.

   “Yeah. That’s Ronaldo. Business-savvy, clean freak. But he helps my mom a lot. Can’t give him crap for that. Gabriel…do you like music? He asked me that once. Jack, you like sports?” He asked the blond who shook his head. “What kinda…” Angela laughed in his back at a voice that sounded so strange coming out of him. 

   “And Monica?” She asked, repeating the name he mentioned before. 

   “Monica and I were born a year and half apart. But we might have well have been twins. Always had each others' backs, fought all the time, played rough. If my father came after me with the belt, she’d make a distraction and vice versa. I mean, still got the belt in the end but it was worth it. She came out to me before I even started questioning that stuff. I was a little jealous that the girls I thought was trying to get with me was trying to get me to hook her up with my sister.” Angela giggled. “You laugh but it happened a lot.” 

  “Oh nein, armes Baby…” She chuckled and he snorted, fake indignation.

   “Congats to Monica. Your mother kept trying to match make us. I think she was going to attempt it again until now.” Jack said opening the fridge. He handed Gabe red sauce and pulled out a beer. He raised one to Angela and she shook her head. Gabe took one.

   “Hell, she still might try. Eric and Adele are the actual twins.” He opened up the box of spaghetti and poured it all right in the pot as the house shook with the thunder overhead. They all looked up at the ceiling.

   “Sounds big.” Jack opened the door and leaned against the frame behind the screen door that rattled as the wind picked up. They fell into silence as Angela listened to the storm overhead and the jeopardy question for “turn-of-the-century tunes”.

  “Keep going.”

   “Ah, well…I got into the army when they were still young, just entering middle school when the Crisis started. Both of them are married though.” He tapped her wrist. “Alright, off you go. I have to move around more. You can get some plates now.” She unlatched from him and walked over to the cabinets.

  “Married?” “...everyone reacts differently to world wars and crises, you know? Get married fast and young, leave your family, or refuse to have kids until the world is better, maybe join a cult.” He shrugged, pulling out a noodle with a fork and throwing it on the cabinet door. It fell, not cooked all the way through.

  “Become a super solider?” She asked. He looked at her and smirked, nodding a bit. Jack chuckled into his beer. He came back the warm kitchen, slipping next to Gabriel, his hand in the other’s back pocket. 

  “Go from nun to doctor…” He turned to her. She shook her head.

  “I was not a nun, Gabe.”

  “Let a man dream, Doc.”

  “Tell me about your parents?” She centered the conversation again.

  “My mom’s the only one who matters.” He nodded. “She raised us all, five kids in a dinky little house which she’s still in. I don’t think she would move if I offered.”

  “Are you planning on doing that?” 

  “I’d like to, someday. She drives me crazy but…she’s my mother, right?” He stirred the pasta and pulled out another noodle and threw it at the cabinet. It stuck. “Don’t mess up my dinner, carino.” He said as Jack stirred the meat sauce.

  --- 

  “My father decided two days before Halloween to show my brother Richard and I, Children of the Corn. I mean, we were the kids; my dad should have been scared right? But no, my brother and I were scared shitless of the cornfields. Then my dad put up this scarecrow and faced it to the house Halloween night. I didn’t sleep well for six months.” Jack laughed.

  “I’ve not seen that movie.”

  “I don’t know if it would translate well…small Midwestern towns, long stretches of no one at all; just you, cornfields, the endless road, and nothing but evangelical preachers on the radio talking about rapture.” Jack smirked. The way he said it that made her shiver. “You begin to believe you might be the only one out there.”

 “The only places that you can be certain that exist in the US are the east and west coast and Texas. Everything else…we aren’t quite sure.” Gabe said flatly. Jack shook his head, taking a swig from his second bottle.

 “Gabe, shut up. Later it became a joke, move the scarecrow around the field. Richard once set it up against the window of my sister’s room. I, uh…might have helped.”

 “Oh that’s terrible, Jack!” Angela cried. “Your poor sister.”

 “Nah, not at all. She got him back. He woke up to its head at the edge of the bed. Dad retired it for a little while after that.”

 “You sound like you were a terror.”

 “Yeah, a bit...” He laughed.

 “Who said he isn’t still?” Gabe asked, smirking at the other man.

 “Ouch, that stings.” Jack clutched his chest. “Right in my heart.”

 “Richard is your older brother?”

 “Mhm… works with my dad, kept all the farms in the area going during the Crisis. Had to feed the nation somehow. Well…at least part of it. He’s got a wife and two kids, third on the way. Still a prankster, great with kids. He’s a shit-stirrer though. The one to start arguments at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, that’s Richard.” Jack leaned back in his chair.“There’s Teddy, my younger brother. He followed my mom’s dad’s path, became a preacher.”

 “Teddy’s an evangelical.” Gabe mentioned into his bottle.

 “Might hear him on the radio as head into Indiana. The good Rev. Teddy Morrison…” Jack sighed and stretched. “He and Richard, cats and dogs…to this day.” He shook his head, taking a sip. “He’s my brother but Jesus; he was snitch when we were kids. I swear he kept a running tally of all the shit Richard and I would do and then tell on us when we all got caught to get out of trouble.”

 “I think he was on to us last time we visited.” Gabe added. Jack looked at the other man, raising an eyebrow. “Pulling that scripture out of his ass all the time… well, I mean…I did give you a pretty nasty hickey.” Gabe grinned devilishly, always pushing the envelope. Jack seemed to instinctively cover his neck. Gabe got up and went to the fridge, pulling out two more bottles. Outside, thunder still stirred and threatened; the sky now deep black as the sun had gone down behind the clouds. There had been some on again and off again splattering of rain but otherwise, a lot of display with nothing to show for it.

 “Well won’t he be pleasantly surprised?” Jack smirked at Angela, taking the bottle from Gabe. “Ted’s got a wife and four kids?” He paused and counted his fingers, mouthing names. “Wow, I’m a bad uncle. Then there’s Beth, the baby of the family and only girl. She lives in Indianapolis right now, works as assistant director in an art museum. I think she might come down, we’ll see. Uhm, Beth’s a bit blunt.”Gabe rolled his eyes.

 “An understatement.”

 “Yeah…it’s…you’ll see.” Jack opened the top of his bottle.

 “Are you two trying to get drunk?” Angela asked.

 “No…just trying to finish off these beers before we leave this place.” Gabe replied, holding a finger up as he took a large swig. “Getting drunk is a side effect.”

 “My parents’ house is dry.” Jack added.

 “Drink some water too.” She reminded them. Jack told her a little more about his parents before the house settled in a familiar silence. Both men were a little more wasted than they were sober. Jack’s blue gaze caught Angela’s and she felt suddenly trapped.

  “…Angela, you’ll tell us about yours?” Jack asked. Gabe raised his scarred eyebrow at Jack and then Angela. She spun the last few strands of spaghetti around her fork and pushed around the remaining meat sauce. It was true she had not told them much about her family. Wrong, you’ve told them nothing. She bounced her leg against the chair leg. She leaned back and put her hands in her lap after leaving the fork on the plate.

  “Where…to begin” She murmured. “…my father, Moshe Ziegler, was a German Jew, whose family moved to Switzerland when he was young and the political climate had grown strained in Germany. He later became a professor in political science at the University of Zurich. He was a constant student, deeply religious and devout to his faith.” She looked at both of the men, their eyes on her as they both seemed to sober up.

 “You’re Jewish?” Jack asked. She shook her head a bit but then nodded.

  “On my father’s side, it’s a little complicated. I had a Bat Mitzvah at 13. But as you know, I’m not very religious anymore. ” She explained. Bare bones, a little more complicated than that. Maybe she would explain more someday. “My mother’s family is from Nigeria, her mother had moved to Switzerland to find work and send my mother to school. Her name was Omnira Afolayan. She was a neurologist…loved fashion, wore brightly colored matching _gele_ to almost all her outfits. My father loved wearing dark clothing so she always shone so bright next to him. Quite a pair…you think.” She laughed a little, feeling her bottom lip tremble. The power flickered as the thunder shook the house, the rain coming down as if someone had turned a full bucket on them. She took out her phone slowly and went through her pictures, ones she had backed up and saved and moved with her throughout the years. She turned the phone to the side and showed them the picture of her mother and father seated in the garden, Angela standing between them at 5 years old, in her Sunday’s best. “No one understood how they were together…how they had me and stayed together?” She said, lightness in the tone of her voice. “A radical German Jew and no nonsense Nigerian Catholic, hard to see, hm?”

  She thought of the blustery, snowy day as she walked with a huddled crowd, climbing on trains to get out of Germany as the Omnics entered Berlin, carrying everything she had, leaving the rest behind at the seminary. She had looked back, people parting and splitting as her mind’s eye traveled back to her home in Switzerland; her mother and father sitting that summer garden. His hands taking hers, whispering sweet nothings in Yiddish. Her elegant mother in her burgundy and gold _iro_ and _buba_ with a matching _gele_ , took his hands and squeezed it as she sipped her tea. Angela turned back and faced the crowds ahead of her, cold air stinging her wet cheeks. She wiped her nose and marched forward with the thickest throng of people. She wiped her cheeks in her present, standing and taking their plates, leaving the phone with them. She carried the plates into the kitchen and put them in the sink. She began to clean them, turning on the water on high.

 

\---

 She took a long shower; sinking down on the balls of her feet as the hot water drenched her, clearing paths through the sweet smelling soap that covered her body as she watched the water and suds spun into the drain. She had left the two men in silence, closing herself off in the bathroom after leaving the half-cleaned dishes in the sink. Her breasts heaved against the top of her thighs as she rested her head on her knees, out of tears. Her mother’s hands deft at moving through rosaries or moving between her shoulders and head before she went out for the day. She hummed a little as her father did before teaching her a new prayer. She had stood next to her father in the synagogue as he whispered the Mourner’s Kaddish for his own mother, covering his eyes. She followed his motions, watching him. Things that had become some rote to her in her youth and earlier young adulthood were something she missed now. She found herself praying. Not something she did often.

 The lights flickered on and off, the bathroom fell into darkness. She didn’t call out as she felt around for the shower knobs.

 “Ang?” Jack said through the door as she cut off the water.

 “I’m fine.” She called back. The door was locked. “I’ll be out in a moment.” She could hear Jack and Gabe speaking quietly as she pushed open the shower curtain, stepping out slowly. Lightning intermittently lit up the room. She pulled on her shirt, surely inside out and backwards after drying herself off before stepping out of the bathroom. Jack was lighting small tea lights at the island, hair illuminated in the soft light, looking much younger. Gabe shoved the butt of a long candle stick into the mouth of an empty beer bottle and lit it. She felt her lips part in a small smile, her eyes watering once again. She stepped into the kitchen, wet bare feet on the tiled floors. _Pat, pat, pat._ She leaned against his shoulder as he lit the last one. He reached to her at once, hand on her lower back.

 “Ang, listen…” he started. She put her left hand to his mouth before he could continue. She hugged him, her head against his chest.

\---

 Angela woke up as the room began to brighten with the rising sun, intertwined between Gabriel’s and Jack’s arms and legs. She sat up slowly.

 "Angela..." Gabe murmured gruffly.

 "We need to start packing." She said, he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Gabriel..." she sighed as he closed his eyes.

 "We have plenty of time." He muttered. "Lay back down..."

 "Alright, alright..." she laid back against him. Jack's hand reached up and rested on her hip as he snored.

 "You talk in your sleep, y’know." He murmured, eyes shut.

 "Ana told me that, yes..."

 "Mhmm?" Gabe opened his eyes and looked down at her. "Captain Amari knows you talk in your sleep?"

 "When she woke me to do our morning patrol in Egypt, she told me I was." Angela replied. Gabe's eyes closed again. "Did I say anything that made sense?"

 "Mhmmnah..."he sighed. She ran her fingertips across his chest. His head fell a little to the side, falling back to sleep. Her mind buzzed, now awake, wanting to talk. She slipped back between them and looked at Jack, completely out, snoring. He'd turn and stop snoring, only for it start again. The birds outside started to sing to each other, a cacophony of songs running together. Her eyes studied the corners of the room, the layout. She slipped out of Gabe's arms once she felt him deep enough asleep again and off of the bed. She went into the living room and picked up her phone that still sat on the table.

  _Two video messages._

 She opened the first and saw Ana in her eye patch and blue & black hijab with Fareeha at a parade, it was very loud and the camera barely focused. The message attached to it was: _I think you are missing out, Dr. Ziegler!_ She laughed a little, opening the next one.

 It was a much quieter place; it took Angela a moment to recognize it as the inside of the mosque. She could see Ana's back, which meant Fareeha was taking this video. A very soft voice confirmed it for her. "Mama is praying for her surgery to go well."

 "Fareeha." Her mother's voice was stern; there was a giggle and quick Arabic. She heard her name among it all. The video ended.

 Angela texted back a message: "I pray your surgery goes well, Ana."

 She put the phone down for it to chirp at her at once. She picked it up and looked at it. “Good morning, is it? It doesn’t matter. I will also accept prayers for sleep…”

 “Ana, you should be asleep!” She texted back quickly.

 “Call me!” There was a small emoji of a cat face. Angela shook her head and went out on to the front porch. She called Ana and set up the phone to expand into a large screen on the small wooden table. She turned the chair over and spilled the excess rainwater off the seat before sitting down. Ana’s face appeared in the screen, wiping her eye. “How are you, Doctor?”

 “I’m doing fine, you look exhausted. How are you?”

 “Shhshh, I’ll sleep when I’m dead, habibi. It is like Egypt has been reborn though. So much reconstruction but…it’s a wonderful feeling. I try to be professional for these pictures they want me in. It’s very hard, I can’t stop smiling. How is America treating you?” The other woman raised an eyebrow and laughed a little.

 “I like what I’ve seen of it. Americans…are very loud though. Friendly and loud. They seem to notice Jack right away.” Ana laughed loudly at that and covered her mouth. They both stayed quiet for a moment, waiting to see if Fareeha would stir. When the coast was deemed clear, Angela went into a description of their Fourth of July and how the party atmosphere had continued to carry over. She glossed over carefully about certain aspects of their trip, the more personal moments. “Today we are going to start driving to Indiana to see Jack’s family. I think Gabe wants to drive straight through if possible. We’ll be there for 5 days. Then we are taking a plane to California, to see Gabe’s family for 5 days.”

 “Are you worried?” Ana asked.

 “Yes…and no. I have Jack and Gabe as support, of course.” Angela smiled softly.

 “Mhmm…yes, their support.” Ana said slowly, giving the other woman bedroom eyes. Angela flushed and laughed, pulling her hair behind her ear. “Ana!”

 “I am not wrong.” Ana replied. She wasn’t. “But you are worried…about their parents and their siblings?” Angela looked away, a sudden lump building in her throat. Like last night. Perhaps she had overestimated her preparedness. Maybe she had made a mistake. “Angela…” She looked back at the screen. The other woman smiled weakly and reached out. She touched the screen. Angela reached out and touched the other side of the screen, smiling a bit at the other woman, her eyes glassy against her wishes. "You have them, if their families do not like you. And you have us, of course. Overwatch is your family. Do not worry, habibi."

 "Thank you, Ana."

 "Do not cry, it is not fitting of you." Ana smiled soft and slow. "I believe I will take your advice, I will try to sleep."

 "Finally someone listens to me." Angela sighed with a chuckle.

 "Angela, we will talk face to face." Ana's voice was stern, maternal. _Show each other those scars that hold them together. Like friends, like real friends._

 "Yes...yes, of course, Ana."

 "Goodnight, Angela."

 "Goodnight, Ana." The call ended and Angela closed the screen with her thumb and forefinger, sliding it down to turn off the holograph function. She brought up her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She sighed and sat there, watching a family of ducks swim by until out of sight, sun warming her skin, as the thickness of the humidity grew. She took her phone and went back inside to make coffee. She took out a box of pancake mix from the pantry, reading the instructions carefully. She pulled her hair back and washed her hands.

\--

 The smell soon brought both men out of the bedroom, Jack pulling up his boxers and Gabe adjusting himself. "Smells good." Jack said kissing her cheek. His hand slid over her ass easily and she leaned into him as she poured the batter into the hot pan. Gabe kissed her forehead and took the cup of coffee she had already made for him. He then went out on the front porch to smoke, shirtless, wearing nothing but his jeans." You were up early...”

 “I could not sleep anymore. I was feeling antsy.” She said.

 “You could have woke us up.”

 “Nein, you needed to sleep. I spoke with Ana. She’s going in for surgery today.”

 “Is she doing alright?” Jack asked.

 “As alright as a woman who lost her eye and is having it replaced with high powered prosthetic replica.” Angela smirked at him, touching his chin. He had peach fuzz, in need of a shave. He snorted a bit and she smirked. “She couldn’t sleep. We talked a bit until she was ready to try again.”

 “…how are you doing?” He asked as she checked the bottoms of the pancakes for browning. His hand was on her back, rubbing her shoulder blade. “…I’m doing a lot better, thank you Jack.” She said with some hesitance. He rested his brow against the side of her head. “Jack…”

 “You know you can tell us anything, Ang.” His voice was serious but calm. It was similar to the voice he used out on the field, more emphatic however. Not necessarily an order but a persuasive statement.

 “You do not have to persuade me of that.” She said quietly, calling him out. He opened his mouth a bit.

 “Sorry...that came out…wrong.” She stood on the balls of her feet and kissed his parted lips.

 “Thank you, Jack.” She smiled. “It means the world to know you care.” There was a long silence between them as Angela went back again to breakfast. He watched her through his thick eyelashes. She poured another three pancakes after removing the first three on to a plate. She moved his hand on to her hip tenderly. She watched him from the corner of her eye, making several snap decisions as she leaned against him.

 “Ever put chocolate chips in them?"

 "You have terrible sweet tooth." Angela laughed. "You and Gabe. Must be an American thing, ja?"

 "Uh, what about? Swiss? Chocolates? All those little pastries?" Jack laughed, his hand slipped from her hip back to her ass as she flipped the pancakes with a spatula. She kissed his jawline and could feel him warming, cheeks flushing quickly.

 "You know what I mean, Jack!" She sighed. "You silly boy." His lips were at her neck. "Don't make me burn them!"

 "Mhm...will you take them off the fire?" She felt him against her hip. She slid the pan off the fire and he turned off the stove. He spun her around against the island, lifting her up onto the countertop. His lips crashed into hers, hands slipping up her shirt, grasping her breasts. She gasped as he pressed against her. "Ah fuck, Ang."

 "R-Right here?" She asked looking at the screen door. She had assumed he would take her to the bedroom. The blinds on the windows were drawn at least. She looked back into his eyes and nodded. He pulled off her underwear, dropping them to the floor, and slipped between her thighs, tongue hot and eager. She sat straighter, eyes flicking to the door as she bit her lip. She whimpered as her legs spread, his arms wrapping around her thighs and pulled her closer. She covered her mouth, moaning. She closed her eyes, grabbing a handful of blond hair. She heard the screen door clatter and she turned with a jump to look at Gabe taking a long sip from his cup of coffee. He closed the main door behind him before crossing over to her, his dark eyes never looking away from her grey-hazel ones. He put the coffee cup and ashtray down on the counter that she leaned against. His lips took her neck, beard scratching her bare shoulder as he pulled the collar of her shirt. She leaned back, bare hips sliding forward into Jack’s hot mouth. Gabe kissed her upside down, smelling of cigarette smoke and coffee and his musk and Jack’s musk from their recent fuck. She laughed as his beard tickled her nose as he leaned over and sucked her lips, gasps deepening. She felt spread between them like warmed butter, like the last bit of honey slowly stringing out, pooling out to lapped up by some hungry tongue. She reached back, running her hands through Gabe's curls on the top of his head and the fresh buzzed cut along the sides and back of his head. Her other hand touched Jack's head and his fingers and strong arms as he held himself between her thighs. She whimpered, bottoms of her feet pressing against the drawers as felt his tongue pull her closer. Gabe's mouth took in her cries and moans as she shuddered and tensed, chest heaving. She bit his lips gently. She gasped again, feeling Jack's fingers gracing her wet cunt, pushing back the thick curls. She let him enter a finger and then a second as Gabe's hands stroked her hair, leaving her lips damp and untouched. Gabe removed a condom from his back pocket, handing it to the other man.

 "Ang..." Jack started, after a moment. She nodded without a word. She relaxed into Gabe's lips again. It still hurt, not as much as the first attempt but enough to make her wince and pull her lips away from Gabe. The odd angle she was at began to feel uncomfortable. She, with Gabe's help, sat up and held herself up against the bar counter top. She met Jack's eye and nodded. He was gentle most of the time, aware that she was still attempting to measure pain with pleasure, fullness and emptiness and fullness again. Wrapping her arms around his neck, he pulled her closer and she whimpered at first which turned into a moan that flew out of her mouth before she was able to stop it. He had hit something right, the g-spot, was it? A silly name but her legs wrapped around him, finding herself pushing against him through the aches and pains. She felt Gabe's eyes on her back, wondering down to her ass that Jack grabbed tight as he hoisted her up. It was a little awkward at first, but they found their pacing. It was good, new, raw but good nonetheless. She leaned her head into Jack’s shoulder and bit it deep a few times. He grunted. "Good? Speak up, Angela."

 "M-mhmm." She murmured, nails in his back as she moved up and down. “Y-yes.” She looked back at Gabe, breasts bouncing out of her bra under her shirt. She wanted him to watch, like she did. There but distant. Aroused but seen as unsexual. She closed her eyes tight as she dealt with waves of both pain and pleasure, grabbing Jack’s blond hair in fistfuls as he swallowed her noises between his lips. He pressed her against the wall, moving a lot more forcefully now. _He’s close, he’s close._ She told herself. She panted, desperate. “Go on, Jack.” She whispered in his ear. He gasped pushing her harder against kitchen wall, she tightened against him, her strong legs pulling him into her. She heard him come, resting his head in the crook of her neck. Their chests heaved together, she smoothed his hair with her eyes still closed. “Mh…good boy, Jack.” She heard him chuckle but come feel him melt against her, warmed by her approval.

\---

  _She looked up as the overhead lights shut off in the circular lab. The arm extending from the ceiling stopped with a loud clunk. Angela pulled her lab coat back on over her white boy shorts and tank top as the emergency light dimmed on and off, painting the room red before falling into darkness for a few moments then red again. TX shut down with a whine, the golden nano stream sputtered out until there was nothing. There was a several loud shrieks of the alarm before it was silenced. She walked from the center of the circular room and checked the large glass doors, finding them locked. She pushed in her code in a brief attempt._

_Nothing._

_"I need manual override...this is Angela Ziegler...level 4."_

_"Access denied."_

_“Dr. Angela Ziegler requesting manual override, I have level 4 clea-"_

_"Access denied."_

_"Call emergency servi-"_

_"Labs 1 through 5 are currently shut down, experiencing power shortages. Labs 6 and 8....searching” She waited, anxiety building in the pit of her stomach. “...no responses from labs 6 and 8. Call services disconnected." The electronic voice dipped in and out, distorted and stretched out, only adding to her uneasiness. Angela's fingers tapped against the glass door, staring down the long, dark hall to Lab 6; it was intermittently lit up red, moving towards her in waves. She thought she caught a glimpse of something behind her. Hot breath on her neck. She spun around in the darkness, unarmed. The room blossomed red and she was alone._

_"I-I was just in lab 6...please try again."_

_"Searching...No response." She swore and started pulling on vacuum sealed doors. Nothing. She leaned against the door and listened. She thought she could hear faint thuds through the thick glass. "Backup generators?" She asked, ear still to the door._

_"Damaged."_

_"Damaged?"_

_"System compromised. Fire in labs 1 and 2." The fire alarm started and then stopped quickly. "Alarms disabled. System compromised. " Her mind began to race, she pulled the lab coat tight, feeling exposed, looking around the room for something disposable but strong. She pulled over the metal cart from the middle of the room and looked at the access keypad. She pulled at it a few times, seeing were it might be weak. The numbers themselves were soft and jelly-like. She raised a fist armed with a small knife, stabbing into the keypad before cracking it open and pulling out its multi-hued wires._

_"Evacuation, please process e-"_

_"Access denied, Dr. Ziegler." She turned and looked up at the black, glassy eye that sat in the middle of the domed ceiling. That was not the electronic voice she had been talking with. Her heart raced as she grabbed the scissors from the tray. In the darkness of the hall she thought she saw something move, a figure standing at the very end, lit up momentarily in the passing red light. She held the scissors tight, looking at the keypad. She looked back up and the figure was gone. Her eyes and the light playing tricks on her like before. She gritted her teeth. "Fucking...Fuck... Scheisse..." She hissed, as her stomach and the dual blades twisted. She stabbed into the wires, snipping many colors at once. The door gave a ka-thunk and sputtered, parting open just a crack. She started pulling on the door close to her with all her strength before it gave a little more. She slipped through the tight squeeze quickly and started down the long hall, still holding the scissors._

_The hall seemed endless as the waves of red lights passed over her. It was sudden and fast, one moment her shoes clicked on the tile. The next moment, she slammed against the wall. She gasped, air leaving her lungs forcefully. Eyes shut and watering. A hand gripped her wrist hard enough to break it while another wrapped around her throat. She dropped the scissors, fingers shaking as the pressure lessened, wrist probably fractured. She opened her eyes barely, seeing the skull visage before her as the red emergency lights passed over them. This creature belonged to Talon: skull mask and all that black. Her mind slipped to a short debriefing. A few pictures, little information. No survivors, drained of life. Unnatural. Smell of death. She gasped for air. Her lips parted as she felt its fist tightening its grip around her neck, claws digging in._

_Her shoes slipped off her feet as she was lifted higher against the wall, vision going blurry. Tears ran down her face. She gritted her teeth, swinging with her free hand against its face. It lifted her from the wall and slammed her back against it and she cried out a second time. Something broken. A rib? Or two, a shoulder blade fractured? Her hand pulled again weakly the attacker's arm._

_“Talon finally…comes to kill me…” She rasped, putting her hand on the attacker’s. A sharp sting, her palm sliced on cool sharp metal; warm blood slipped down her good wrist and down her forearm. The attacker’s grip loosened noticeably. The smell of leather and iron and death and her own soft floral perfume; not a bad smell to die to. Her chest heaved, her body’s will to fight was much stronger than her conscious. “G-go on then.” It was different to ask for death, something she fought so hard against on behalf of her patients. But this was her life and this creature before her was the closest to Death; she did not find herself in the bargaining mood. She let her body go limp as she could, eyes closed. The hand once again tightened around her throat, the second joining it. Such a personal way to die, she thought. She felt salt water burn in the corner of her eyes, running down her cheeks, betraying the image she always had for herself when greeting Death. An old friend, whose scent she could never seem to shake._

\--

  Jack had introduced Angela to the license plate game after she woke up from a nap in the backseat. Gabe now drove and Jack had taken shotgun; it looked like they had stopped at a battery station to charge the car. Jack handed her a shirt he got from the station; a tight white top emblazoned with the words USA made out of the American flag, bedazzled with cheap rhinestones. She joked with him that she would really fit in now as she changed into it laying down. It was a little too tight but she liked it nonetheless. She sat in the back, eating from a bag of chips.

 "Mhm...83W-O9Q...Ar-kansas." she pointed out the car driving past them.

 "Arkansas." Jack corrected. She laughed a little.

 "Are-kan-saw?" She repeated. "Jack,that is just silly."

 "He's right though." Gabe added. "GNFKR28. Driving slow as hell. Tennessee." 

 "I thought you said you weren't playing." Jack chided the other man.

 "I am now."

 “Gabe…”

 “No.”

“Gabe…” The blond pleaded.

 “What.” “Are you from…Tennessee?” “Morrison.”

 “Because you are the only-“Jack started in on the joke.

 “Gun fucker..." Angela whispered from the backseat, translating the license plate in front of them. "Apparently not the only one."Jack covered his face as he laughed, whole body shaking. Gabe decided to speed around the truck. The older couple driving grimaced at them causing the whole car to erupt in laughter.

 ----

 A few hours later they pulled over at a rest stop to collectively relieve themselves. Angela looked at the colorful if not now defunct brochures while she waited on Jack and Gabe. There was a breeze but otherwise still hot, cicadas singing loudly over the drone of traffic. The smell of public restrooms and cleaning products cooked in the air. She hoped the boys weren't fooling around in there. Unhygienic...the smell alone.

 She tucked her nose into her too tight, too patriotic, white t-shirt. Everything was tinted amber through her sunglasses, cars and people, the bugs that lazily lofted in the air. They were somewhere near the border of Pennsylvania and soon after that Ohio; Gabe wanted to be at the border of Indiana by next afternoon, while Angela and Jack thought it might be best to spend the night at a motel. Gabe was stubborn about it and promised to do the driving himself.

 The brochures offered a wide array of corn and farm related activities for the whole family-mazes, pick and eat, and during the fall, haunted rides through the fields. Several fun houses. A zoo that looked suspicious at best featuring a very tired looking lion. A wax museum, whose creations looked a little off, maybe too many days spent without a/c. Scale recreations of battles from the Crisis.

 Her eyebrows knitted together and lips tightened as she tossed that brochure in the trash can nearby. Gabe sat down next to her on the bench. He was warm, too close for a summer’s day like this but she let him slip his arm around her shoulder. She looked at him but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes drifted over the lanes of traffic.

 "Angela." His voice was soft.

 "Yes?"

 "...we didn't talk much about it afterwards. I understand, you have your own way. I know it was hard to tell us the things you did." His dark eyes connected with hers. "Thank you." She kissed his cheek, hand on his jaw.

 "...thank you, Gabe." He pulled her into his chest. It was too hot and too much and she could feel her eyes getting wet but she needed this moment to last a little longer. "You don't ever have to suffer alone." His voice muffled in her hair. He released her after a moment, a tiny smile on his lips. "Too hot to get too emotional, huh, mi corazón?" He chuckled as she smiled with him, wiping her eyes. He gave her his hand as he stood up and she took it. He helped her up from the bench. "What were you looking at?" He asked, referring to brochures in her hands.

 "Fun things to do." She smiled and he shook his head. "Have you ever been to a wax museum?" She asked as they headed to the car. Jack rolled down the window, wearing Gabe's sunglasses, a/c blowing into their faces.

 “Come on, I thought we had a deadline.” Jack smirked.

\----

_“We are sending you to Iraq. Once you’ve recovered enough that is.” She heard the man’s voice as she looked up at the ceiling of the state hospital. The cervical collar she wore was uncomfortable, like a dog in a cone. She was also in a back brace, she wasn’t sure if something else had been fractured or broken. “It’s better that you are out of Zurich.” Her throat ached, right wrist throbbing as it healed. She could hear it in his voice. You’re lucky to be alive, lucky to walk away. There was something else there that she couldn’t quite put her finger on but it put her on edge. She closed her eyes._

_“My work has been stolen, Agent Braun.” She heard him laugh a bit._

_“I believe that is the first time you’ve ever said my name.” She grabbed the sheets between her sweaty palms, flaring pain ran up her arm. “We are working on every aspect of the attack, Doctor Ziegler.”_

_“My colleagues…” She whispered, eyes finally gazing at him. He stood by the doorway, smartly dressed in a dark suit. He was lighting up a cigarette, ignoring the clear multilingual reminder that this was a smoke-free zone. He waved away the nurse nearby out into the hall where two intimidating guards stood._

_“…Two are in critical condition. Sieht nicht gut aus.” He sighed, shaking his head. It seemed false. “ Ein echtes blutiges Durcheinander.” _

_“You don’t even care.” She hissed. He put his hand to his heart, acting wounded by her words._

_“I care enough to get you out of this country in a hurry.” He replied, inhaling deeply. Ash fell on the tiled floor._

_“Alles wurde zerstört oder genommen.”_

_"We are working on that too. You are needed elsewhere”_

_"My staff was taken, my prototypes destroyed. The Valkyrie is down and damaged, near ruined, what do you think I am able to do?" She hissed, barely raising her voice._

_"Doctors Patel and Rajagopalan from Calcutta will be meeting you in Baghdad with some replacements from their hospitals." He replied coldly. Her eyes narrowed at him as he blew smoke out of his nose._

_"That was an act of terrorism! Talon! A direct attack on the UN." Angela shouted, throat raw and sore. "Will it be looked into?!" He glowered at her._

_"It is not the first, as you know. It won’t be the last. We have everything under control, Doctor. However..." He shut the door on the nurse and the two guards in the hall, locking it. He sauntered over to her bedside and she stiffened even in her braces. "You've been hiding a lot from us, Ziegler, the nurses and doctors told us about them. Those scars, too precise ...no ordinary battle scars from war time, huh, Mercy. Been playing Frankenstein again? We found some interesting footage on those cameras, ooh, gruesome...couldn’t hide it all, huh?" He was too close to her, she shrunk in as much as she could, glaring at him. His smirk fell into a sneer. "Wouldn't want another Reyes situation. Was für ein Monster wirst du werden?" She pulled away from his face. Turn that knife deep. He never missed a chance. “Remember, Ziegler, you continue on the grace of god. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”_

_He turned and opened the door, leaving her staring at it, fuming quietly. She closed her eyes briefly, listening to the sounds of the hospital around her. The white skeletal mask of her attacker came flying at her once. Clawed hands around her neck. She gasped as her eyes tightened shut, tearful; she stayed in the moment. Pain in her neck, her arm. Then her back. Red and black of the emergency lights undulating above her. A seizure. She barely remembered. Was that real? Dropped, no… lowered down. Her eyes opened wide, startling the nurse._

_"Dr. Ziegler?" The nurse asked. “Geht es dir gut?“ She sniffed the air. “Haben Sie hier geraucht?”_

_"Darf ich etwas Wasser haben, bitte? “_

\---

 Angela switched with Jack as passenger at the next rest stop in Pennsylvania. The sun was setting before them as Jack snored in the backseat and Angela switched around from radio stations to news stations. She bounced her bare feet on the dashboard to the beat of the song before singing along softly.

 "...Ang?"

 "Mhm?" She turned her face to him. His eyes were forward. "Jack...told me something while you were out earlier.” He breached the subject slowly. “About you wanting kids." He didn't turn his head, keeping his eyes on the road.

 "Someday, yes." She replied. "I...it's still just a thought as of now. My work right now takes up that space. However, the world doesn't seem like it is such terrible shape anymore, somewhere I feel safe having children."

 He chuckled. "World's always terrible. Just not as bad right now."

 "A pessimistic outlook from one Gabriel Reyes." She smirked. "Groundbreaking." He reached over and grabbed her thigh above her knee, squeezing it a few times, causing her to shriek and laugh, ticklish. They stayed that way for a while, listening to the music as the sun dropped down. The clouds looked like they followed it in its descent, painting the sky orange and purple.

 “Pragmatic…not pessimistic.” He added.

 “Hmm, I suppose…selfishly, I’d like to leave something of myself in this world.” Angela admitted as her eyes scanned the darkened horizon. “My work is one thing…a child is another.”

 “Some living reminder.”

 “Yes. Doesn’t that sound selfish?” She sighed, the question was rhetorical. She knew it was. She could argue that the lives she had helped save and their generations would be living reminders enough but at this point, why bother. Gabriel knew. He had well-honed clarity, sharp.

 “Sounds human.” He said with no hesitance. “I was here while the world burned…and lived.”

 She stared at him in the dark, his face outlined by the light of the radio and dials on the dash. The phrase replayed over in her head as silence dropped over them again. He reached over the console and took her hand, holding it.

 "Ang, I hope we didn't push you into something you aren't ready for." He said softly.

 "About meeting your families?" He nodded in response, his eyes on the dark back roads a little into the Ohio state line. "...Reyes I have come to terms that I will not always be comfortable. I am doing it for you both. Because I love you both. Obviously it will be a little uncomfortable, won't it?" She looked up at him. Scheisse, had she said love before? Had she told either of them that? He squeezed her hand, eyes still on the road. "...Weil Ich liebe dich beide.” He looked at her for a brief second as sudden blinding brights of a car behind them filled the cabin. Both swore and squinted as a siren blared, and red & blue flashing lights added to the mix. Jack groaned, groggily awaking to them being pulled over on the side of the backroad.

 "No, Torbjorn, don't sing please." Jack begged groggily.

 “We weren’t speeding, were we Gabe?” She asked. Gabriel rolled down the window, Angela handed him the passports and licenses from her bag and the glove box.

 “…might have just a little.” He looked in the review mirror. “Taking their time, huh?” He looked at her. “Ever been pulled over?”

 “…Nein, Ich bin ein Heiliger.” She said with a straight face. Gabe snorted.

 “Reyes, you got us pulled over.” Jack groaned from the backseat.

 "Driving pretty fast." The cop stated, suddenly at the driver’s side, shining his flashlight in. It seemed too bright, Angela pulled her gaze away from it. "Do you know how fast you were going?" His eyes connected with Gabe’s scarred face. He grimaced a bit.

 “Surely not too much over the limit.” Gabriel said diplomatically. His hand was still wrapped around Angela’s, tight. She could see he was tense. Jack stayed quiet in the backseat. “Speaking of which, haven’t seen a sign or a soul for the last 10 miles.”

 “It’s 60 out here, son. You were pressing 80.” Angela watched Gabe’s jawline clench. “Got somewhere to be?”

 “I am terribly sorry…” Gabe replied through his teeth. “Just trying to-“

 “Step out of the car. Have you been drinking?” He flashed the light into Angela’s eyes. She pulled away again. “You too, miss. You in the back.” She looked at Jack and Gabe before stepping out on to the graveled side of the road. The officer was looking over Gabe, his hand on top of his holster. Jack stepped out of the car as the officer turned his attention to her. “Been drinking miss? Smoking?”

 “No.” She replied firmly.

 “What accent is that?” “Swiss…” She muttered.

 “Want to speak up?” His voice was harsh.

 “She’s from Switzerland.” Jack interjected.

 “Did I ask you, son?” The officer turned to Jack. He paused, looking over the blond in the cruiser’s headlights and his flashlight. “…Jesus fucking, Jack Morrison.”

 “...Yes, sir.” Jack looked at Gabe and Angela. The officer looked back at the two, his hand closing the clip on his holster. He laughed, flashing his light at both Angela and Gabe once more. “Goddamn, American Hero. Y’all are all veterans, huh? No one at the station is going to believe this.” He chuckled. Gabe thrust the papers at the officer. “Right, right. Sit tight.” He took them and walked back to his cruiser. Angela stood, staring at them quietly. Gabe looked at Jack.

 “Jack fucking Morrison.” He growled. Jack shook his head, eyes pleading with the other man. “Thank you, white Jesus.”

 “Gabe…” Jack hissed. “Shh…” Gabe took off his beanie and ran his hand through his hair, annoyed. The officer came back around to them, handing the papers to Jack.

 “Sorry about that, folks. Been dealing with some unsavory sorts driving through here like hell. Folks still acting like the world is ending.” He looked at Gabe and gave him a stiff smile. “Sorry about that, son. Everyone’s still on edge, ya know how it goes.” Gabe returned the same smile but it came off more like a snarl. “Just trying to get home, huh?” He asked Jack, who nodded slowly. “Right then. Keep it at 65 at the least.”

 “Of course, sir. Have a good night.” Jack nodded. They watched the officer get in his car and make a U-turn, gravel crunching under his tires before he disappeared beyond the slow curve in the road. Gabe spat on the ground. “Jack, why don’t you drive? Find us a motel in this shithole of a state. Fucking Ohio…” He trailed off as he walked around the car. “I’m taking a piss.”

 “Gabriel…” Jack called out before looking at Angela.

 ------ 

_“Doctor Ziegler?” Doctor Pari Patel’s silken voice came over the speaker of converted long distance walkie-talkie sitting on the passenger seat, bouncing as she traveled between paved and rough, sandy roads. Angela drove back into Baghdad in the dinosaur of a truck, some pre-Crisis hunk of junk that an older man in town had been keeping up since he was a kid. She was returning from one of smaller towns where she had been working, supplying specialized prosthetics for those who were still dealing with explosive reminders of the Crisis. She had only been in Iraq for a month but had built a pretty good reputation with both Iraqi doctors and their patients. She wore a light blue, UN fatigues with white hijab, a leather belt and tan, steel-toe boots; very different from the Valkyrie suit but, perhaps a little less showy and a little more relatable._

_She took her medication regularly, however still suffered more déjà vu of Egypt in her short time there, and the UN drones flying overhead did not ease her mind. Ana Amari ghosted the outskirts of her memory the rare instances she touched the gun holster on her belt. “Ziegler, are you there?” She reached over and pressed down the large yellow button on the side of the brick-like walkie-talkie._

_“You can call me Angela, Pari. I’m headed back into the city. Is something wrong?”_

_“Besides Dr. Rajagopalan forcing me to listen to Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain on repeat?” Pari sighed a long suffering sigh._

_“It’s no Barbie Girl.” Angela smiled as she came over the hills. Pari groaned. “He has eclectic tastes.” Near the hospital, she could see a familiar looking transport ship. She narrowed her eyes._

_“I shouldn’t have to suffer through them! But the reason I am calling! You have a guest, Doc- Angela.”_

_“I see the ship, it’s not Agent Braun, is it?” Angela did not hide the sourness in her voice._

_“No…no, it’s Lena Oxton.” The other woman said._

_“W-what?”_

_“Yes…Raja stop giving me that look. How does my hair look?” Angela heard Patel ask the other doctor. “Oh, she’s so much cuter in person.”_

_“Das Mädchen weiß nicht subtil, wenn es ihr ins Gesicht schlug.” Angela gritted her teeth and shook her head. “I’m about 30 minutes away…let her know I’ll be there shortly.” She turned off the walkie-talkie. She drove the rest of the way into Baghdad in silence, chewing the inside of her mouth._

_\---_

_“Angela! ‘Elllo!!” Lena said from the second story medlab, waving excitedly, leaning dangerously over. “Pari’s been tellin’ me all about the great stuff yer doing here.” Angela stepped up the stairs, Lena already waiting at the top of them, bouncing a little bit, wearing a large grin. She was dressed brightly, gold aviator sunglasses sitting on top of her head. She barely waited for Angela to take the last step up the stairs before embracing the woman as best as she could manage with chronal accelerator strapped to her chest. “’s good to see you! I heard about the fires at the UN Medical Branch in Zurich, checked ‘em out too.” Angela opened her mouth. “I was fast! Don’t worry!” She waved it off. Angela shook her head slowly as Lena’s large eyes suddenly narrowed to the brace on Angela’s wrist and the faint trace of bruising on her neck. “…real shame about it…” Her mile-a-minute speech slowed just a bit._

_“Lena, I wish I had a little more heads up. You look wonderful as ever. Let’s go talk in my office, let Doctors Patel and Rajagopalan get back to their work.” Angela put her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder. Raja was already turning his music back up to Pari’s visible chagrin, her face darkened with blush._

_“O-oh yeah, of course. See ya!” She waved at the two before following Angela down the dusty hallways of the older parts of the hospital. She smiled and waved at the other staff. Once she was sure they were out of earshot she turned to Angela. “Wut really happened?”_

_“Talon, I am sure you had already guessed that. I believe the story the media was fed was something about fires caused by faulty wiring. They though it better that I was off the map, as much as the UN can make me.” Angela whispered as they entered her small office. It was tight, old binders and computers took up part of the room. It was dusty and no matter how much she cleaned, it did little to nothing. She moved several binders from a chair for Lena to sit on. Instead the younger woman began to pace. Angela leaned against the desk and watched the other woman sometimes blink forward in her pacing. “Lena…may I ask how you found me? And what you are doing here?”_

_“You haven’t gotten any of our messages, have ya?” Lena sighed, looking at the phone on Angela’s desk, black-screened. “Told ya I did some looking…just enough to know where ya were, if ya were safe.”_

_“No. Anything you send to me is not safe, subject to be examined by the UN.” She shook her head as Lena pursed her lips, a defiant expression building in her features. Angela waved a hand before crossing her arms under her chest. “Thank you for coming all this way to make sure I am okay but… I’m desperately trying to keep you all safe, keep what little we have left safe.” Angela sighed. “Every time they see me with you or Winston, even Reinhardt, it can be seen as criminal under the Petras Act. Possible collusion, Overwatch activity.” She leaned her head into her braced hand and rubbed her forehead._

_“…’bout that…” Lena began, looking nervous as she fussed with her hair. “I know you are trying, Lena, to do the right thing. I want that more than anything. My hands are tied.”_

_“Winston activated the Recall!” Lena cut in. Angela’s mouth fell agape as she looked up with wide eyes at the brunette who smiled weakly. “Oops…”_

_“Lena that is not an ‘Oops’ situation!”_

_“We’ve already gotten replies! Dr. Ziegler, the world needs us. People are desperate! They can’t do it alone!”_

_“Tanzen christus.” Angela leaned back and looked at the ceiling before closing her eyes. These were all things that she knew._

_“…Mercy.” The brunette took her hands. “The world needs heroes…and we heroes need ya, love.” Angela looked at the bright-eyed girl in front of her, holding her hands and felt her heart ache hearing her nickname. Her mind started to travel back before Lena called her back. “Mercy, please.”_

_“I have nothing…my Caduceus staff, most of my work, the TX program. Even the Valkyrie suit. Taken or destroyed.” Angela replied. Lena gave a small smile._

_“We need you…it’s a good start.” She chuckled._

_“Alright,yes…” She whispered as Lena squealed quietly. “Gott, hilf uns.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So two parallel stories are being told, one is more linear, post- Crisis and Pre-Fall and the other moves back and forth between the fall of Overwatch and Recall. I honestly find this form of storytelling more interesting but I do hope it's easy to follow. 
> 
> Again, thank you for patience and understanding. 
> 
> Translation:  
> armes Baby: poor baby  
> gele: Nigerian head tie  
> iro and buba: Nigerian blouse and wrapper  
> Sieht nicht gut aus. : does not look good  
> Ein echtes blutiges Durcheinander: a real bloody mess.  
> Alles wurde zerstört oder genommen.: everything was destroyed or taken.  
> Was für ein Monster wirst du werden?: what kind of monster will you be?  
> Geht es dir gut: Are you alright?  
> Haben Sie hier geraucht?: Have you been smoking?  
> Darf ich etwas Wasser haben, bitte: may I have some water, please?  
> Das Mädchen weiß nicht subtil, wenn es ihr ins Gesicht schlug.: Girl doesnt know subtly if it hit her in the face.  
> Tanzen christus: dancing christ  
> gott, hilf uns: God, help us.


	10. All-American Summer: Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our trio has finally made it to Jack's childhood home.  
> 3rd of many parts. 
> 
> Tw: Self-harm, medication.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I wanted to get this done within the month of December and be like "LOOK EVERYONE, BI-MONTHLY!", didn't work out that way but here it is!  
> Happy New Year to all, take care of yourselves. 
> 
> If there is anything else that I ever need to tag as a trigger warning, please tell me.

The thin, older woman with a sour face looked at the three of them under the greenish fluorescents. Angela stood between the two men as Jack attempted to speak with her. In the background, a small ancient-looking flat screen played an even older-looking comedy in fuzzy black and white. She seemed more interested in the movie than helping them. Jack pointed at the glowing red ‘vacancy’ sign through the window, lighting up the dark bend in the street. 

“Just one room with two beds will be fine.” Jack repeated, his jaw a little stiff. The woman narrowed her eyes at him and then Gabriel. Angela could feel Gabriel tense beside her. 

“Miss…I’m hard of hearin’.” The woman said to Angela. “He wants a room with two beds?” 

“Uhm, yes…yesm.” Angela replied. The woman laughed, she now flat ignored both men. Jack slunk back a bit behind Angela.

“I have two rooms. Both with one bed. For…unmarried couples.”

“Oh well…” Angela attempted to get hold of the situation. “…T-that’ll have to do, I suppose.” She looked back at Jack who shrugged defeatedly. Angela paid the woman who seemed now distracted by the movie. Jack and Gabe left to move the car in front of the side-by-side rooms as Angela finished checking in. The woman leaned forward over the counter. 

“Listen sweetie, you seem nice but I don’t want any funny business in my rooms, alright? People coming here acting like this is some den of sin and it ain’t. I’m a godly woman, I have morals ‘right?” Angela almost pulled away from the woman’s foul breath but kept a smiling face on. “Just because the world’s gone crazy…”  
“Oh no, ma’am.” She lied through her teeth. “Nothing like that at all.”

“Good…” She turned her head back to the TV, laughing a little. “Here, ya go.” She handed her the pair of keys. “Have a goodnight.” She waved as Angela left. She shivered in the humidity of the night. Everyone’s got an opinion in this town. I thought we were passed all this. Angela walked under the awnings, passing by the large windows covered in heavy drapery as the “no” light up in red with the “vacancy”. Angela came up on the two men who were waiting by the ice machine. She handed Jack the key before taking hers to the next room over. Gabe was silent as he took the two suitcases into the room. Jack watched him before turning to Angela.

“What a witch…” He sighed. “You’re really going to sleep in there alone?” He nodded to the room as she picked up her suitcase and he closed the trunk. She shrugged. 

“I paid for it, might as well sleep in it, right?” She kissed his head. “Talk to him, alright. Goodnight…” She smiled and closed the door behind her.

-

Angela pulled back the stale green, thin "comforter" the floor with a grimace and between two fingers. She looked at the bedsheets with sharp eye before finding them at least acceptable to sleep in. The large A/C unit droned, billowing the heavy lavender curtains out a good four feet into the room, buffeted against the bedside table. She could hear Jack’s voice and then Gabe’s, quiet. It went back and forth a bit, a little louder each time. Angela looked at the carpet before she crossed the room to the small table next to the TV stand, where her suitcase sat; she pulled out a change of clothes and set them out on the bed. She looked in the bathroom and checked the towels on the rack above the low-flush toilet. Again, as clean as she could tell. A dusty wooden plaque asked patrons to throw sanitary items away rather than down the toilet. 

From the other room, she heard the door slam and the shower start, pipes stirring in the walls. She remembered her roommate in seminary who loved horror movies, and sometimes talked Angela into watching with her. Few about motels came to mind as she looked over the room and remembered the woman at the front desk. _Fictional horror is how humans deal with the horrors of reality_ , she said to Angela. It would be less than six months later that they would be forced from the dorms, from the cities, and soon out of Germany as the Omnics came forth. 

There was a knock from the main room. She stepped out of the bathroom, now noticing the second door for the first time, flush against shared wall. She waited and there was another knock.

"Angie." That was a new nickname. 

She unlocked it and opened it, Jack standing in the door frame with his door wide open.

"Wonder if that old bat at the counter forgot about these?" He laughed as he peeked in. "Mirror image. Getting ready for bed already?"

"I was just checking the sheets." She shrugged. He laughed a little before his face changed, disappearing back into his room and doing the same. She watched him pull down the sheet as he spoke.

"I was going to get something for us to eat. Gabe's in the shower..." His eyes looked down. They had been arguing. He trailed off. "Do you want to come?"

"I was going to shower as well, actually. I'm sorry." He looked only a little letdown but shrugged. 

"What do you want?"

"Are you getting fast food?" She asked. She wanted to make another meal at home but she couldn’t be choosy given their sleeping arrangements. 

"Probably but I'll drive around town, see if there's takeout." 

"Okay... uhm, I'm not sure then. I suppose stick with what we know…though it seems like this town is out to give us a hard time.” She smiled a little, trying to lighten the mood. He smiled back just a bit. She touched his shoulder as he came back to the shared door. “Driving might help you think of something to say to him. Right?” She looked at him, his eyes met hers briefly and he nodded a bit. 

“You’re right…” He kissed her head. “Should I leave this open?” 

“Mhm, yes.” She nodded. “Drive safe alright?” He picked up the keys from the bedside table. 

“Of course. I’ll be back.” She waved to him from the shared door as he headed out, the door locking from the outside. She leaned against the doorframe, biting her inner lip. She went back into her room and sat on the bed next to her clothes as she turned on the TV and searched for a while before finding the black and white film the woman at the counter was watching. It was ending as she turned it on, credits already rolling. Another film started up but she barely noticed it. She wasn’t sure how long she had zoned out when Gabe was at the door, wearing a towel around his hips. She was biting the pad of her thumb in thought. 

“Shouldn’t do that, Ang.” He stated. She jumped a bit, snapping out of her thoughts, looking up at him. 

“Jesus…” She laughed. 

“Not exactly.” He smirked a little. “Where’s Jack?”

“He went to get us something to eat.” Angela said, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. “I was going to take a shower but I wanted to wait until you were out.” She got up and walked over to him. “You’re alright?”

“…Ang…nothing should surprise me much anymore, right?” He chuckled weakly. “But, still nothing like serving your country, and some dumbass cop…” He raised a fist and then flattened his hand, spreading his fingers out, mostly to calm himself. “And your boyfriend doesn’t get it. Or he does, just not well. Or he does and he just doesn’t want to make waves. I’m still not sure what’s worse.” He gritted his teeth, jaw clenching. She took his hand in both of hers and squeezed it in understanding. She too had felt the sting of prejudices, both covert and overt, that seemed embedded in every interaction and institution. “Another day in the USA, Ang.” He would know; both he and Jack would know. But Angela found herself quickly learning about what different US realities that meant. He ran his free hand through his damp curls. “Lemme get dressed, take your shower.” 

-

_Two pills at night, every night. In the starkly decorated bedroom, Angela threw back the small pink pill and long wider white one chased with lukewarm water from the bathroom sink. One to put her to sleep, one to keep the seizures at bay. In the morning, she would take one for anxiety and depression. That had been her schedule since she had started this experiment on her own body. She sat down on the bed and looked at the floor to ceiling length mirrored closet. She stared at herself, the woman sitting before her in the worn silk slip, a gift from a different time. Her hair no longer golden, her natural dark brown but still framing her face like a halo. Her grey-hazel eyes were tired, dulled of youthful sheen that her body still so eagerly displayed. Many questions faced her about her youthfulness often met with a smile and friendly brushing away. How do you tell them, you are the researcher and the research?_

_Her arms which were always covered now displayed the matching banded scars on her upper left arm right below her shoulder. It was still newer than its sister on her right, lit up light pinkish-tawny against her warm brown skin, jagged scarring reached down to the crook of her elbows on each arm- much like lightning reaching down against a sandstorm. Not even the other researchers knew, much like she knew little of their work. Her work had crossed into unknown territory, self-experimentation. That was the simple way of putting it. Local anesthetic, clamps used to stop the blood flow, blood she been sneaking out of the blood bank for several weeks prior. The laser provided a clean cut so she had to damage the arms before reattaching them, as if she had lost it in combat, forcing her to rebuild; healing the damage with one hand. Everything had looked fine, no internal bleeding, MRI scans shown she had recrafted everything beautifully. But something went wrong, she was not sure how or where. They didn't heal right; damage to nervous system, she assumed, caused her to develop seizures throughout her body, numbness in her fingers, and generalized pain that came and went. Back at square one and in worst shape. But she pushed forward._

\--

_"Does it count as self-harm?" Angela had asked her therapist, an older white woman with a soft green gaze and thin lips. She was just a few years older than Angela but no one could tell just by looking. She held a paper cup of water in between her hands, empty now, she picked at its seams. "It is my line of work, surely-"_

_"Surely, you do not need me to answer this Angela..."_

_I would never ask anyone else to do this. This work. This remains confidential." Angela pushed._

_"Angela." The older woman shook her head, tapping her pen on the pad sitting on her lap. “Of course.” Angela got up and walked past her therapist to the drawn blinds of the large windows behind them as the woman watched her. She pulled them back and looked across to the window of the building nearby. Something shined through the dark glass. Something lethal and watching. She let the blinds go and swing as she stepped back._

\--

It was harming herself. It is. She still thought about it. Perfect it. If she lost an arm, well that was that. What is a Doctor without their hands? Reckless.

_She knew she was playing with fire and she knew eyes were on her, the UN watched her like a hawk. If they knew about the mad science performed in her labs, they didn't say a word._

_"Your work or your life..." the mirror spoke to her, repeating the words from her second interrogation 5 years ago when she held her head high, haughty despite everything._

_"Your work....or your life..." Give them everything and turn away...or work for them and keep everything. She took another long sip of water, emptying the glass. She stood, crossing the bedroom, out into the living room and kitchen. She felt heavy and weighed down by the sleeping pill._

_Sellout..._

_I gave everything to protect you all._

_As long as you still get to play hero, huh, Ziegler?_

_A voice that sounded oddly like Reyes’._

_She started refilling her glass with water from the fridge, needing something cooler._

_She could feel her hand tense around the glass before dropping it in the sink and give way to a seizure. Her body followed suit as she tried to sink down to the floor with some control. Her eyes rolled back as she leaned to the ground. She shook and seized for several moments._

_I am trying to keep you all safe, my hands are tied! All of our hands are tied!_

_She laid on the kitchen floor as the seizures passed, staring at ceiling, bare feet twitching against the dark tile. She wasn’t sure how long she laid there on to the floor, feeling the weight of her limbs settle. Slowly, she stood back up and went back to refilling the glass that had managed not to shatter in the sink. She gulped down the water, some spilling down her cheeks and chin, down her front._

She began to laugh, covering her mouth. She laughed louder before throwing the glass across the living room into the opposite wall.

\--

Angela stuck her head out from the bathroom and saw Gabe sitting at the edge of her bed, dressed in just his sweatpants with his towel sitting on his head as he watched the TV. She slipped into her flats dried herself off as she walked to the bed. She dropped the towel on the bed and putting her underwear on. She laid down across the bed behind on her stomach and watched half-heartedly. He turned around, looking over her bare back. He placed a warm hand between her shoulder blades before examining the small scars and birthmarks with his pointer finger. 

“I want to take a picture…” He whispered. 

“I’ll allow it.” Angela looked back him through her damp hair and laughed a little. He smiled and got off the bed while she waited in the same position. “Are you using the disposable?” 

“Mhm…” 

“We can never get these developed .” She murmured, picking at the fuzz of the sheets. She heard him turning the dial on the camera. 

“We can. Just slide an additional twenty the developer’s way.” His weight was back on the bed, leaning over her a little. She heard a click, the turning of the dial and then another click. “It’s nothing pornographic.” He argued. 

“Mhhm. Just admiring my back?” 

“Just admiring you.” She laughed and pushed her red face in the sheets. He laid down next to her after slipping the camera in the large pockets of the grey sweatpants. She turned her head to the side and looked at his profile. “You know, I have a whole film that needs to be developed…for Jack.” 

“…Gabriel Reyes, you are a romantic.” She purred. He barked out a laugh, loud. 

“A pessimist, a romantic...I have been called much worse.” 

“Will you ever develop them? I’d like to see them.”

“Working up the nerve…some of those are a little more explicit.” He chuckled, stroking her back again. She sighed deeply, looking over her shoulder. He put the disposable camera away in the pocket of his sweatpants before laying down next to her, propping himself on his elbow. 

“I like that…can you keep rubbing my back?” She asked, hair falling over her eyes as she smiled. 

“Sure, sure.” He stroked down her back with his fingers.

“Thank you.” She murmured before closing her eyes. They let the silence sit between them for a while, the TV mumbling in the background. She finally spoke: “I think Jack understands, Gabe.” She opened her eyes and reached out to his face, stroking his scarred cheek. “Maybe…maybe not completely but empathically. Because he loves you and cares about you.” He looked away from her, thick dark lashes covering the emotion in his eyes from her. “Of course…talk to him, have him listen to you. Don’t let him off easy for that.” She touched the raised light brown of his scars with the pad of her thumb. He moved his hand from her back and took hold of her hand in his, gently before kissing her palm. She blushed and propped herself up on her elbow. He kissed her palm again as she noticed the glassiness of his eyes. She cooed gently to him and smiled softly. “Liebling…” She pulled him close against her bare chest and held him tight. She leaned into the crook of his neck, taking in his warm, clean smell. 

“My arm’s going numb.” He murmured kissing the top of her shoulder, beard tingling her bare skin. She released him and leaned back as he stood up from the bed. He pushed his palms against his eyes and wiped them before turning to walk to the bathroom. “Be right back. Uhm…” He turned and smiled a bit. “Don’t get dressed.” She shrugged with a soft smirk as he headed into the bathroom, she sat up as the door clicked and crossed over to the table where her suitcase sat. She dug around a bit, pushing around matched pairs of socks rolled into each other, underwear, t-shirts and skirts before finding the soft pink leather harness she concealed in the layers. Next, she pulled out a boot and reached in, pulling in the same color silicone dildo. She slipped into the harness, something she had practiced with several times after getting it, before altering it around her hips and between her legs. She slid the dildo into the metal O-ring and adjusted it. She put her hands on her hips, feeling a bit presumptuous. She slipped back on to the bed, changing her seated positions a few times. She leaned against the pillows and put her knees up as the bathroom door clicked open. He paused on his way back over to her, crossing his arms over his bare chest before resting his chin on his fist. 

“You…weren’t just talking…” He chuckled a little, face darkening. She laughed and sat up straight before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed again, hips and knees spread wide. 

“Oh, I do talk a big game…I learned that from someone. But I tend to back it up.” 

“Oh-ho, shit, Ziegler.” He hooted. She stood up and walked over to him, letting him tower over her. “Don’t think I can back up my game?” 

“Are you giving me the reins?’ She asked, putting out her hand. He covered his mouth, thinking. She smiled and laughed. “No?”

“I didn’t say no.” He said through his fingers, his scars bloomed darker as he flushed.

“But it’s not a yes.” 

“What do you want to do…”

“Just what I said on the plane.” She smiled as he put his hand in hers. She let go of his hand and walked around him. She wrapped her arms around him, running her fingertips across his chest and abdomen, feeling his breath hitch and seep out of his barely parted lips. She pressed her hips against him, the lower hanging dildo pressed against the cleft of his ass through his sweats as her fingertips danced along his lower abdomen. 

“H-how long have you been planning this?” 

“Mhm…long enough…wasn’t sure it was going to work out.” She murmured between his shoulder blades, kissing him there and then on the scars nearby; her breasts pushed against his back as she grasped him gently through his sweats. He exhaled sharply as his hips reflexively pushed back into her. Her left hand grasped his hip, while her right hand felt him up as he grew erect. His breath grew unsteady. “That old woman told me this wasn’t a den of sin but see, I made that promise to fuck you.” She ground into him a bit, rocking her hips as he pushed back against her. “Where’s the lube and condoms?” 

“J-Jack’s bag. Front left pocket.” 

“Alright, get on the bed.” She said, her hands releasing him and stepping back from him. He looked over his shoulder at her, his face darker with the flush of blood, his lips slightly parted. “On the bed, Gabe.” She walked through the shared door into their room. She walked around the bed and bent down to search the pocket. She checked the combinations and compatibility of the lube, condom, and the silicone dildo before getting back up and walking back into her room. She held the lube and condoms in her hands, standing and looking over him. She opened the condom and threw away the wrapper in the basket before rolling the condom up the shaft. She took one of the pillows and handed it to him. “You might need this, darling.” 

“Hah, thanks.” He looked back at her, dark eyes, dark lashes over a scarred shoulder.

“Are you still up for this?” She asked.

“Fuck, Angela. Yes…yes.” He panted. She smiled a little and pulled sweats half-way down his thick thighs, grabbing a handful of his ass. He grunted, arching his back a little as she felt him push into her hand. She lubed her fingers, touching him gently along the base of his balls. His breath grew unsteady again as she pressed her lubed forefinger into him with some slow ease. She hated not being able to see his face but she watched his body react positively, shoulders rolling, back and hips starting to arch. She added more lube in her inexperience before adding a second and then a third finger. Gabe, whose breath had been unsteady and inhales had been sharp, barely made much noise. Angela desperately wanted him to moan, to moan for her specifically. She grasped his ass with her free hand, with the little bit of nails she had as she moved her fingers inside him. She saw his shoulders tremble as he gasped out, leaning into her touch as she left little half-moons across the expanse of his left ass cheek. She removed her fingers, eliciting a surprised moan from him as he leaned into the pillow as she swatted his ass once. Then twice because she liked the way skin paled and then came back darker, the way it jiggled under her palm.

“A-angela...” He whimpered, his deep voice muffled by the pillow, she couldn’t hear the rest of what he said. 

“Hmm…” She purred, lifting the dildo a bit to guide it into him. He groaned, looking back at her mouth open, while his thighs shook. She pushed slowly in and grabbed his hips, easing him back into her. His back muscles tightened and turned his face away, moans becoming muffled in the pillow.

“T-that is much bigger that Jack…w-wider.” He gasped as she slowed. “No, God, all the way.” She pulled him to the hilt of the harness, which pressed against her clit. She shivered a little, starting to pull out. He held up a hand, for her to pause. “Whoa, w-whoa…w-wait, Ziegler…” 

“Tell me when then.” She murmured, stroking his hips. 

“Alright…f-“He started as she pulled close to all the way out. He groaned, grasping the bedsheets as pushed back into him, barely giving enough time to catch his breath, which came out as a yelp and whined Spanish. She found a rhythm with him, sometimes stroking him hard and desperate, thick in her hand before turning back to rocking him hard into the bed. He gasped and squirmed under her as she grabbed his ass. Angela heard the front door of the other room shut and slowed again. Gabe growled lowly into the pillow.

“Jack?” Angela asked. “We’re in here.” She said it so casually, it was almost innocent. Jack walked in, holding two bags and a drink carrier. Angela had turned and waved at him as his mouth started falling agape. 

“U-uh, hey.” He sputtered back, closing his mouth with an almost audible snap. He moved slowly over to the table and put everything down next to Angela’s bag. Angela watched his eyes run down her and then across Gabe’s body. “S-sorry it took me so long.” He walked over to Angela’s side. “But uh…you seem to be occupied. She turned her face to him and smiled broadly. He slid his hand on her hip and whispered in her ear. Gabe fussed impatient and hard; he moved his hand to touch himself. Angela swatted his hand away, grasping the head of his cock until she heard him moan out her name. Her fingers were covered in precum, which she smeared on his ass before smacking his ass hard enough to leave a ghost of her handprint. Jack reached down, thumb massaging the darkened skin. Gabe rolled beneath them both, leaning into all their taunting touches, thighs shaking. Jack left her side, walking around the side of the bed and coming around to Gabe’s face. He knelt down and smiled at the other man. “Hey…”

Gabe pulled Jack into his lips with one arm, the other supporting him as Angela began pressing into him again. His lips were wet with saliva, biting and sucking on Jack’s lower lip. Jack pushed his lips apart with his and kissed him deeply, Gabe’s moans muffled. Jack laughed a little and grasped a good handful of the man’s curls. Angela gripped Gabe’s thighs pulling him back into her until he whimpered.

\---

_“Do you want me to tell ‘em I got ya?” Lena asked, fingers moving across the control panels of the transport ship with second-nature ease. The transport ship began to roar to life. Angela took the seat next to her and buckled herself in. Her head was pounding as she had just spent the better part of an hour pacing and packing and unpacking instruments, medications, and files. She and Dr. Patel had agreed on a lie that sounded plausible without hurting the job security of the staff. Angela had left her post and went AWOL, as far Pari was aware, thus releasing her of any wrongdoing. While the other two women worked, Lena had erased footage on the cameras, something she seemed good at. Angela leaned back in her chair, still processing and reprocessing this choice she was making. She had been covertly obstinate, underhandedly urging resistance and now that the chance had arose, she felt sick._

_“Tell who?” She repeated, pulling her hair back. They had taken off._

_“Winston and the rest of ‘em.”_

_“Rest of them? N-no, no.” She shook her head and rested her forehead in her hand._

_Lena looked over the older woman, her legs bouncing. Her face fell momentarily before coming back up with a smile._

_“It’ll be a surprise then? I’m sure it’ll be nice.”_

_“…I suppose so.” She was distracted, exhaustion pulling at her. “I’m sorry, Lena.”_

_“Sorry, for what? Well, we are breaking the law, right?”_

_“Several.” Angela replied, closing her eyes. She hadn’t realized how tired she was as her body sank back, shoulders slouching as her head rocked forward. She jolted a bit, Lena’s hand on hers._

_"Hey…Dr. Ziegler, you can sit down at the lower level. ’m used to flying solo.”_

_“Oh, but Lena.”_

_“Dontcha worry. In a few moments, we’ll be at cruisin’ level. You can head down then.” Angela smiled at the young woman as she spoke with Athena about keeping Angela’s arrival a secret; the AI seemed amused, as much as an AI could be. “How’s the weather in Gibraltar?”_

_“Torrential downpour.” Athena replied, Lena laughed and shrugged, laid back as ever. “You have incoming call from Winston.”_

_“Ah, hell. Well if you want to, Angela, you can head down to the main floor.” Lena turned to Angela. She nodded and unbuckled her belt. She stood up and headed down the stairs, recognizing the special places of wear on the ship. She sat down at the table, looking at the pictures pinned to the walls around the space, smirking at the one of Torbjorn and her at Halloween years ago, articles and trinkets filled the spaces. Her eyes crossed over the long shot of early Overwatch, the day Lena and Winston had joined. She looked away quickly, her teeth clenching. She picked up the Pachimari stuffed toy from the ground below the table and gave it a little squeeze, it gave a loud squeak in response. She looked around the table as her fingers continued to squeeze the little creature, flashes of the past slipping so easily into the empty seats and spaces. Countless card games and stories filled her thoughts, moments of fear and terror too. She laid it on the table and rested her head against it gently, watching the clouds pass the large windows until her eyes closed._

\---

Angela stood outside the motel room under the awning as the rain poured down. Jack put the last bag in the trunk and turned around to her. Last night they had slept together, stuffed on one bed, forgoing the chilled dinner that Jack had brought, waking up to a rainy dawn. 

“Ready to go, Doc?” 

“Yes, we’ll have to find somewhere to eat, though.” 

“Well you just couldn’t wait, huh?” He nudged her and he nudged her back. Gabe returned from the front office, wearing his hoodie and beanie, moving a little slower than usual. Angela smiled at him and he shook his head with a semi-serious look.

Not a word, Ziegler. “Hey, all good?”

“Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here.” Gabe stated. “I’m taking the back.” 

\--

20 questions had become the game of choice while driving into Indiana; a good distraction as the radio station choices shifted from pop music to preaching and driving in sleepy silence was no better. Angela kept a tally of wins and losses while Gabe laid out on the backseat on his stomach, chuckling as they tried to guess his answers. Three hours out from Jack’s hometown, they stopped to get something to eat. 

It was an atmosphere that she couldn’t really describe. It felt dream-like as she looked through the thick menu that covered every meal. Perhaps it was the lighting or that everyone seemed exhausted, despite it being the middle of the day. Both men ordered more food than seemed necessary before both adding a slice of pie. 

It was at the diner that Angela noticed Jack becoming more anxious. He turned his coffee cup around in a full circle several times, fiddled with its handle, messed with silver wear, sugar packets, and the other condiments. Gabe leaned back in the booth against the window with just a hint of a grimace, arm thrown over the top of the seat behind Jack, sometimes talking low in the other man’s ear. His anxiousness resulted in drumming his fingers against the red vinyl covered seats. Angela slipped her hands in her purse and looked for her anxiety medication and the pill cutter she kept for just in case. Locals came in and by the table, recognizing and shaking the two men’s hands, thanking for them for their service. Some lingered a bit longer for picture or two. Once the coast was clear, Angela passed them the half pills across the table under two napkins and was thanked for it with glances. Jack got up and looked at the vintage jukebox in the corner, flipping through the songs. He leaned against Angela’s side of the booth. 

“Wanna dance while we wait for our food?” 

“…dance?” Angela repeated, slightly arching her brow.

“Mhm…I’d ask Gabe but I think he’s-“

“Fuck off, Morrison.” Gabe shifted in his spot. 

“…alright, I’ll dance with you.” She said as she stepped out from the booth and took his hand. The few other diners watched as Jack took her over to the jukebox. “You’ll follow my lead?” He asked, she nodded with a smirk as he put a hand on her hip and another on her shoulder. She couldn’t really hear the words but followed him and the folksy beat of the music. I don't know if I'm scared of dying but I'm scared of living too fast, too slow…

It was slow starting out but soon found a groove with her. She laughed a little looking around, but her eyes returned to his after looking around at the staring staff and diners. She smiled slowly as he spun her and pulled her close again before she spun him. He extended their arms in front of them, fingers interlocked, putting his arm around her waist. 

_Show me my silver lining_

_Show me my silver lining_

He picked up the pace to almost a gallop and she giggled, following him as they danced further out into the walkway, dodging a waitress or two. The fellow diners seemed amused, starting to clap a little off beat. Angela’s eyes met with Gabe’s across the room, he covered his mouth but she could see the smile reaching his eyes, even as he shook his head a little. 

She was spun again, several times before she was dipped low.

_I won’t take the easy road, the easy road…_

\---

_She walked out into her childhood backyard, her mother's roses blooming and swaying in the breeze. The neighborhood tall trees and bushes growing over stone and wooden fences created a small paradise, the grass between her toes felt soft and lush like carpet. A young girl with dark black curls and dark eyes looked up from a book from where she sat at the outdoor table under an umbrella. Angela felt her breath catch in her throat and her approach slowed. The girl, perhaps 14 or 15 years old, closed her book after sticking a flattened and dried daisy between the pages, getting up and walking over to Angela. Her face was serious for someone so small, so familiar it stung sharp and terrible. Angela framed the face of the young girl between her hands, she sniffed gently and stroked her cheeks with her thumb. She sighed and sunk to her knees, feeling tears gather in her eyes. She touched the girl’s face and hands._

_"...liebling..." she finally whispered as the girl touched her face, wiping her tears away. "I had such plans, didn't I?" She laughed, bittersweet. The girl's face softened a bit and Angela felt like she was staring in a mirror._

_“…there’s someone here to see you.” She heard her mother’s voice from behind her. She stood up and looked back at the elegantly dressed woman in the doorway, her dark skin brilliant in her emerald ensemble._

_“Mother…Iya” She whispered. From behind her mother, in the dark of her childhood home, the piercing white skull mask of her would-be assassin appeared. Angela turned, pushing the girl behind her, only to find no one, she was alone with this being that stepped out of the house. It was on her in a second, smoke billowing out of its sockets until everything was dark._

-

Angela lifted her head and looked around the ship, clutching the Pachimari plush tight. She slowly released it and leaned back against the seat, wondering how long she had been asleep as she slowly got her bearings again. She wiped her eyes, finding them damp. 

“Athena, what is our ETA?” She asked. 

“Landing in two hours.”

“Still raining?”

“Yes. 100% chance of rain until early tomorrow morning.” 

“Thank you, Athena.”

\---

Pulling up the long, tree-lined driveway to the white square-build two-story, Angela took off her belt and leaned forward between the Gabe and Jack from the back to get a better look. Beyond the house were the cornfields, which seemed to stretch out forever. She held Jack’s hand as he looked out to the other side of the road, to the fields were the cattle grazed lazily or stood under the shade of the trees by the fences. Angela noticed there were several other buildings nearby the house- a large yellow barn, stables, and a smaller secondary house painted the same yellow as the barn. Gabe parked the car next to a large, dirty black truck and several other cars before turning to Jack and Angela. 

They stepped out of the car, leaving their suitcases in the back for the time being. Angela followed behind the two men, taking in her surroundings. An upstairs window opened and two kids appeared. 

“Jack’s here!” They yelled. From inside, a tall woman with grey blonde hair appeared on the porch. Jack went on ahead from Gabe and Angela, jogging up the few wooden stairs to embrace the woman who suddenly seemed much smaller in his arms. She said something to him that Angela couldn’t make out and patted his back. 

“We were starting to get worried.” She said as Angela and Gabe came to the foot of the stairs, hands on the railing. “I’ll lecture you later.” She smiled turning towards them. Her face barely changed seeing Gabe’s scars. “Gabriel…it’s good to see you again and under such wonderful conditions.” 

“Good to see you again, Mrs. Morrison.” 

“Mrs. Morrison…please, Tami is fine.” She embraced him too and patted his back. Jack came over to Angela’s side as she reached the top of the stairs and put his hand to her back. She looked up at him and then his mother. Tami Morrison looked younger than most women her age, only marked by laugh lines and light crow’s feet around her eyes; Angela assumed youth boosters might have played a role. Her nails were short, a chipped layer of light pink nail polish decorated a few of her fingers; her hands a mix of rough and soft as she took Angela’s in hers. Jack had her blue eyes and her soft smile. “And this is Angela. I’ve heard some very nice things about you. A doctor?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Angela replied. Tami’s eyes lit up a bit and she laughed. 

“I wasn’t quite expecting the accent, to be honest. It’s lovely though.” She put her arm around the younger woman and took her from Jack into the house. “Tell me, are you an Angie-kind of girl?” 

-

“Ma, where’s everyone?” 

“Your father took some of your nieces and nephew down to the stables to ride horses since we weren’t too sure when you were coming in. Teddy is coming later tonight and Beth is coming in tomorrow.” Tami said opening the oven and checking on a big, glistening chicken. From upstairs, two blond girls came down into the kitchen, one holding a piglet who squealed and squirmed. “What did I say about bringing that pig in here?” 

“He was cold!” One argued. Tami narrowed her eyes. 

“Meredith, take the pig outside. Wash your hands and please greet your Uncle like a proper lady.” Meredith stomped by to the door out to the porch and put the piglet down. It promptly relieved itself on the porch before skittering off. Meredith dramatically dragged herself to the nearby half-bath. “Jennifer, you too, wash your hands.” 

Jennifer did not wash her hands but at once went up to Jack and asked to be picked up. She hugged Jack and asked that he call her “Mac” because she liked it better. 

“Mac, you’ve gotten so big since I’ve seen you.” Jack bounced her a bit. “You remember Gabriel?” 

“You’ve got scars on your face.” Mac said to Gabe with bluntness only a child could get away with. 

“Jennifer.” Tami sighed. “Gabe, I’m sorry.” 

“She’s not wrong.” Gabe shrugged. Meredith came out from the bathroom and at once asked to be picked up by Jack as well. Jack picked up the other girl and pretended to struggle. 

“Meredith, you’re too big.” 

“No, you have muscles, pick me up!” She jumped up and down. He picked her up too with ease in his other arm. “Yay!” 

“So you’re Mac…are you Cheese?” He asked. 

“I’m lactose intolerant…” Meredith replied, managing to get her mouth around the words. 

“Good to know.” Jack laughed. “So, Meredith, you remember Gabriel?” 

“Yes...no.” She put her hand out. “I’m Meredith, welcome to my Grandma’s house.” Gabe shook the young girl’s hand. “I’m seven and Mac is almost 6.”

“Meredith is Teddy’s youngest daughter, Mac is Richard’s youngest right now, but you’re gonna be a big sister soon right?” Tami explained. 

“Yes.” Mac nodded.

“Are you excited?” Angela asked. 

“No.” Mac said flatly. The room erupted in laughter while Mac pouted. 

“Sorry about that, kid.” Jack chuckled. “This is Angela, she’s a doctor. She comes for Switzerland.” 

“Swisserland.” Mac repeated. 

“Close enough.” 

“Hello.” Angela smiled as both girls waved. 

“She is Uncle Jack’s girlfriend.” Tami clarified, moving around the kitchen’s large island to the wide steel refrigerator. The two young girls looked at Angela and then Jack again, scrunching up their noses.

“She’s too pretty for you.” Meredith sighed.

Gabe barked out a laugh and Angela covered her face, giggling. 

\---

Jack took Angela down the hall after they spent some time downstairs with his mother, helping her make dinner. Tami asked her two granddaughters to help her and Gabe offered his services as well. The older woman shooed them both out of the kitchen, telling Jack to show Angela around. The hall had doors on either end, front to back. Jack commented that during the spring both doors would be opened to let in the fresh air. At the foot of the staircase were a set of double doors stood closed for the time, his father’s office. Under the stairwell was another door, down to the basement or as Jack called it “the man cave featuring washer and dryer”. Down the hall, where the walls on either side were covered in both family photos and crosses, to the left was the huge living room with a low ceiling, dominated mostly by a long L-shape couch and worn grey-leather recliner. Against the wall, and taking up most of it, that all the furniture faced was a ceiling-to-floor projector screen. On the right of the hall, was a bedroom which Jack explained was his sister’s, long ago. 

“An oasis from 3 brothers. With a private bathroom.” He explained. But the room lacked any personal touches now, a guestroom being used by Jack’s older brother and his wife. Through the back door at the end of the hall, Angela looked out over the farm land and the cornfields nearby. Underneath a large tree were several long tables built in benches. Jack then led her upstairs. 

Along the wall of the staircase hung pictures ranging from the present to as far back as the 1940s. He pointed to a framed, yellowish picture at the top of the stairs, great-great-greats standing in front of the much smaller house as it was being built. 

“Well in 1985, half the house actually caught on fire, during a huge drought. They decided to rebuild and make the house bigger for our growing family.” Jack explained as they walked down the upstairs hall. They passed an open door on the right, a dedicated room for kids filled with toys and TV flickering with some brightly colored children’s program. He showed her the other bedrooms, once belonging to his two brothers’, but now like his sister’s, made into spare rooms that all seem occupied by visiting family members. His parents’ bedroom was on the left near the end of the hall but manners told them both to leave it unlooked at.

Jack finally opened the last door on the right, leading her into his childhood room. The room was smaller, seeming that way because the sheer number of faded posters on the wall. An American flag hung over the red-and-white plaid sheeted bed in the corner of the room. On the bookshelves were pictures of Jack as a young man and a child. Angela slowly looked around at the pictures, one of him and she assumed Richard waiting for the bus on the first day of school, Jack’s clothes just a little too big, hand-me-downs. Both boys flashed tired smiles at the camera, squinting as the sun rose, Jack missing two front teeth. He sat down on the bed and leaned against the wall as Angela made her way through the room. 

“I…wish she didn’t keep these up.” Jack said as Angela stood near him, holding a picture of young Jack with his family, dressed in army fatigues looking both excited and terrified. She assumed it must have been right after the Omnic attack along the US East Coast, before the attacks ramped up in Europe, following the increasing dire situations in Egypt and much of the Middle East. Before the world fell into total war.

“You look so young….and terrified…”

“…three weeks after I graduated high school.” 

“A child in the face of war.” 

“It makes seem like I died.” He chuckled. She sat next to him, still holding the frame. Behind Jack was his father, his hand on his son’s shoulder. Angel could see the gleam of Tami’s tear-stained cheeks while the other children leaned in nearby. Jack’s older brother looking serious while his younger brother and sister seemingly unaware of the gravity of the situation. Angela reached across him and put the photo down on the bedside table. 

“Perhaps she just wants to remember…” Angela replied. Jack hummed as she leaned back against him. “Is this where I’m sleeping?”

“Yep….it’s not going to be too weird is it?” 

“No, not at all.” She smiled. “I’ll just turn the photos around if I change my mind.” She took his hand and kissed it. “Where are they putting you and Gabe?”

“Down in the mancave, there’s a pull-out couch down there. Like the barracks all over again.” He chuckled. She leaned closer to him and she watched his face flush. 

“Oh the barracks?” She smirked, her hand on his thigh. “Are you sure they don’t know what’s up?” 

“I am sure...I just think Ma would prefer us sleeping separate.” 

“Jack…we are adults.” Angela raised an eyebrow as she leaned against him. 

“Mhm, yes but we are not married adults.” He clarified, she laughed a bit as she looked around the room.” 

“Oh…oh, I see.” She giggled. “But I prefer our arrangement very much, darling.” She kissed him deeply and pressed into him with renewed vigor. His pulled her close as she pushed him back against the bed. Downstairs, they heard the house grow louder with extra voices, yelling, and laughter. Angela listened, stopping while leaving Jack squirming under her. Hearing the wooden floor of the hall creak with someone’s approach, Angela got off Jack quickly near sprinting over to his bookshelf as Gabe entered the room. 

“…House tour over?” He smirked as Jack sat up slowly. 

“Y-yep.” Jack replied. 

“Your Ma wants to talk to you.” Gabe explained, sitting next to the other man. “She was wielding that potato masher a little threateningly." 

“Hah… give me a moment.” He leaned forward as Gabe looked over at Angela. She innocently looked back at them from an open yearbook. Jack breathed in and got up to leave but not before Gabe gave his hand a squeeze. The blonde man walked over and leaned down, kissing Angela’s forehead. “Ya tease, Ziegler.” She smirked. Jack headed down the hall and Angela looked back at Gabe. 

“Alles in Ordnung?” She asked. 

“Natürlich ... Ich bin ein Profi an diesem. Bis fast seine ganze Familie füllt die Küche.” He leaned back against the wall, putting his hands behind his head. She put down the yearbook and walked over to him. She stood near his knees and looked over him, face reading worry. “Mir geht es gut, keine Sorge. Sitzen.” She sat at the edge of the bed, he rubbed her back with one hand. “You’ll probably have to go down there soon. His father just came in with more of his nieces and nephews and his brother Richard.” She sat for a little bit, unmoving. She turned to him. 

“... kommen Sie mit mir herunter?” She asked putting a hand on his knee. “Bitte? ”

“Hast du Angst?”

“…nur ein bisschen.”

\--

Richard Morrison was tall, broad man with blonde beard and a youthful aura. His hands were rough from manual labor out in fields and farms but gentle with all the kids who seemed pulled into his jovial sense of being. Richard embraced his brother for a long time before pushing the younger man back to get a better look at him. 

“You look great, Jackie.” He smirked, patting the man’s arms roughly. “Real good! Shit, I mean shoot,” He smiled back at the kids. “...I think you can finally beat me in arm wrestling.” Angela and Gabe watched as an older man with dirtier blonde hair mixed with greys and whites pulled Jack into another long embrace. Jack slipped out of their view with Richard, who was mentioning something about Cuban cigars he had. David Morrison was a quiet man, hands like sandpaper, often wearing an expression of extreme focus as his whitening eyebrows knitted together. He looked over Angela and Gabe with what she assumed was apprehension until his lips under the blonde-white beard curled into a smile. He shook Gabe’s hand at first and then embraced the other man, patting his back. 

“Reyes…it’s good to see you in one piece.” He stated. “Thank you…for bringing my boy back to us.” 

“…He brought me back as much as I brought him, sir.” Gabe replied. David laughed with a hum, again clapping Gabe on the shoulder. Gabe cleared his throat. “This is Dr. Angela Ziegler. David looked to Angela. “And I am sure you are also responsible for bringing my boy back to me.” He extended a hand to her. She took it and they shook before he pulled her into a bear hug. She was used to being hugged by larger men and gently patted Mr. Morrison’s back. He released her and looked over her. “I’ve heard amazing things about you from Jack. Let me introduce you to my grandchildren. I know you’ve met Meredith and Mac already. Gabe, Richard’s got Jack on the porch, something for y’all to share.” Gabe nodded, his eyes glanced at Angela and she nodded with a smile before he headed out of the crowded kitchen. He brought Angela to the small breakfast nook where the kids had loudly congregated, talking amongst themselves and sending pictures out of them horseback riding. “Angela, these are my six….where’s Thomas, seven…well, we got number 8 on the way, grandkids. Everyone, please take a moment to greet Ms…uh, that is Dr. Ziegler, Uncle Jack’s girlfriend.” An older, bookish-looking girl with long dark brown hair put down her phone and stood, her eyes lighting up. She walked around the table and put out her hand. 

“D-Dr. Ziegler, it’s such an honor. I’ve read all about your work and oh, it’s so amazing.” Angela took the girl’s hand and shook it smiling. “As soon as I found out you were coming….” 

“Rosie, you’re blathering.” A dark-haired boy commented. 

“S-shh…Again, I’m a huge fan. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, ever since Mac’s age.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Rosie is it?” Angela asked, the girl was still holding her hand. 

“Shoshanna is my real name, e-everyone calls me Rosie though.” She blushed. Jack’s father chuckled.

“Both very wonderful names.” Angela commented. “It’s a lot of work…I’m sure you already know.” 

“Oh yes, I’m already studying. I’m going into a med prep class when school starts again. I’m just…” 

“Rosie…” the boy started. 

“Right...uhm….this is my eldest brother, Stephen. He’s about to be a senior in high school.” Rosie started. Stephen put down his phone and reached across the table, half-way. Angela reached the rest of the way and shook his hand. David leaned in. “These are my youngest son’s children, by the way. Teddy.” He explained. “There’s Paul.” He pointed the boy sitting on the cushioned built-in seats by the window. He waved to Angela. “Going into high school this year. Over here is, Rueben.” He pointed to another dark haired youth, who seemed busy playing on a game system. Meredith leaned over his shoulder and watched. 

“Use a heal.” 

“I know, Meredith.” The boy hissed, not even looking up. 

“Here is Thomas, the eldest of Richard’s kids and the cousins.” A tall, young man with dirty blonde and a lanky build walked in from the porch, smelling like tobacco. “Thomas, this is Dr. Ziegler.” 

“Hi ma’am.” He shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you too.” 

“Thomas!” A woman’s voice rose up from the main kitchen. “I don’t want you smoking! What did I say!” The woman, heavily pregnant, put her hands on her hips. Her long blonde hair was tied up into a ponytail. Tami stood behind her, raising an eyebrow. 

“Mom, come on, Uncle Jack is back.” 

“Don’t even. Go wash your hands and get better smelling before you come back into this kitchen. Jesus, I swear you drive me…” She sighed as the boy walked of the kitchen. “Hi, I’m sorry.” She walked over to Angela and took her hands. “Diane…Richard’s wife. Good to finally meet you.” 

“Hello, Diane.” She smiled and shook hands with her. 

"Hah, feeling overwhelmed yet?” Diane chuckled. She leaned past Angela. “Kids, we are eating in the backyard, help Grandma with silverware, plates, and table clothes.” Angela began to feel overwhelmed as the kids brushed past her, excusing themselves to collect plates and linens from the cabinets and island drawers. Diane linked arms with Angela, much to Angela’s surprise, and took her along after the kids down the hall to the back door. They stopped at the porch railing, overlooking the large, grassy backyard. The small herd of children set up the two tables, arguing about seating arrangements as Stephen lit old-fashioned insect-repelling torches. Diane asked Rosie, who hovered by the two women on the porch, to go wake her mother from her nap in the guest house a little ways off. Once Rose was out of earshot, Diane leaned close to Angela. “Once she heard you were coming here with my brother-in-law, she’s been a little head in the clouds. Not much use to her mother.” She sighed, rolling her shoulders. “Dear, if I may be straight forward.” Angela looked at Diane, finding her already quite straight forward. 

“Of course.” 

“Doctor, my sister-in-law Samantha is…delicate. For having five kids, the amount of stress she can carry is about the size of a thimble. And I’m pretty sure she is pregnant again, but you didn’t hear that from me. Her relationship with Meredith and Rosie is strained at best.” Angela said nothing but nodded slowly. “Rosie just really looks up to you, Dr. Ziegler. It’s not your problem…I suppose just be aware.”

“Of course…” Angela nodded. Diane smiled. 

“Good, alright. Hah, I’m sorry, I’m sure you are already anxious, meeting Jack’s family like this. I know I was when Richard brought me home." 

“How did you two meet?” 

“Honestly, I was working two jobs just outside Indianapolis, a place where he was doing a lot of business and meetings with the state’s other farmers and statesmen. I was a bartender some nights and a waitress during most days. We just kept running into each other. He asked me out, even though he wasn’t really my type back then.” She laughed, blushing. “If you told me this was the life I would be living 19 years ago, well, I would be laughing in your face.” Diane shrugged. “How did you meet Jack?” 

“On a transport ship, actually; they had picked me up in Morocco from a humanitarian mission on their way to Gibraltar. I was going on to Zurich. It wasn’t a very long trip but most transportation within the country was dealing with a standstill. “She tapped the wood. “Our colleague and friend Reinhardt was making fun of my German while I tended to soldiers on the ship. It wasn’t until a few weeks, later we were properly introduced.” 

“Oh…” Diane laughed. “Properly introduced?” Angela felt herself blush. 

“No…no, not like that.” Angela raised her hands and waved them. She had to be mindful of slipping around Jack and Gabe’s relationship. “We were very much friends before….” She cleared her throat.

“Mhmm, don’t worry. I won’t tell Mama Morrison.” Diane winked. Angela’s face flushed as the door opened behind them and Tami came by with the chicken, talking to Mac. “Richard and I weren’t…technically married yet either…” She smirked. Angela felt a little more relaxed around Diane, she reminded her only just a bit of Ana. “What a job you must have and a life, mhm?” She mused, Angela let her. “Not to jump the gun, but just prepare you. You’ll be asked about wedding bells and babies and all that from David and Tami and probably even my brother-in-law, Teddy. They did the same to me when Richard brought me through. Something about war and crisis makes folks a little more reactive…at least from what I’ve seen. “The woman shrugged. 

“I do…that is…someday, perhaps not right now. Everything is so very…fragile, isn’t it?” Angela replied. “I’m almost certain both Jack and Gabriel feel that way.” 

“Of course, of course.” She shrugged again, this time with a much more dramatic flair. “We need something to talk about back here on the farm.” Jack, Gabriel, and Richard came through the back door carrying pitchers of water and juice, smelling like cigars. Diane pretended to be offended by the smell, telling Jack to sit far away from her. He laughed but apologized to her anyway. She sighed, Angela could see she was holding her tongue to her husband about letting their son smoke some of his cigar, giving him a terse nod. They’d talk later, it conveyed. 

Up the slight hill, Rosie appeared with who Angela assumed was her mother- tall, thin, with dark hair and pale skin. She was plain looking but not as a criticism; she wore no makeup nor did it look like she used any expensive youth serums. She looked visibly exhausted even from a distance but put on a gracious smile when greeting her brothers-in-law and Gabe. 

“…I should have just made her a plate, poor girl.” Diane sighed. “Can you help me with these stairs?” 

\---

Angela managed to slip away upstairs after dinner and several rounds of guessing games with the nieces and nephews in the living room. Mac pulled on her sleeve and let her know that her shirt was inside out, something that no one else seemed to notice throughout the day or had and just not told her. Her head was throbbing and she needed a breather from socialization. Diane had gone off to speak with her sister-in-law while Gabe and Jack had settled downstairs in the “mancave” to watch a baseball game with Richard and David. 

Dinner had gone off without much issue, Jack told her, he assumed it was because Teddy hadn’t made it. Instead, it was loud and boisterous; the children and teens attempting to weasel into the adult table conversations. Samantha, Teddy’s wife was quiet and had listened to conversations and minor arguments branch off into tangents. Angela had noticed the softer, almost quieter conversation between Tami and Samantha. Diane was a little louder, a little less lady-like, yawning openly when the conversation centered too much around exclusionary subjects or openly turning the subject away from thornier paths. 

Angela had introduced herself to the tall, lanky woman seemed a little surprised; taking a few glances at Jack and then Gabriel before smiling kindly at Angela anyway, as if she was in on something Angela wasn’t. 

_Oh, you poor dear._

The usual line of questions had been directed at Jack and Angela, ones they both knew how to dodge and duck carefully. Jack went back and forth with his mother a bit, arguing that she already had eight grandchildren and anything that either he or his sister Beth (who Angela learned had been staunchly against having any children) brought to the table would just be redundant. 

Angela dug around in her bag in Jack’s old room, looking for aspirin after turning her top back outside in. She checked her phone and saw no messages waiting for her as she sank on to the bed. She shut her eyes for a moment and exhaustion pulled over her. She curled up on the bed, not bothering to pull back the sheets. Just a short nap before she went back down to the Morrison children. Just a few more moments, she thought until she fell asleep completely. 

\--

Jack and Gabe unfolded the couch mattress as Tami put in two loads of laundry into the two washers after moving wet laundry into the dryers. She apologized that it would be a bit noisy but both agreed the rhythmic sounds would probably help them fall asleep. Most of the household had parted off in their own ways toward bed. Jack followed his mother up to take a shower, carrying one of the baskets of clean clothes for. Gabe made the up the thin mattress with the sheets Mrs. Morrison had left behind for them before looking in the linen closet next to the small, tight half bath for comforters. The basement was drafty, which was fine when there was four grown men in there, loudly heating up the place but at night he imagined it would get closer to freezing. Jack came down a little later from his shower shirtless and sat on the edge of the bed. He was quiet for a moment, looking around as if he was remembering something about the room. He looked back at Gabe. 

“Angela is passed out on my bed, she didn’t even bother changing. I think the kids wore her out.” He chuckled. “I just tucked her in though.” He left out the part about his mother standing her doorway across the hall when he left the room, giving him a look. 

“The same woman who went nearly three days on two, three hours of sleep and several cups of shit-terrible coffee.” Gabe mused. “Out-stripped by your nieces and nephews.”

“And in-laws…God, when Teddy and Beth show up.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Shower’s open though, if you want to take one. Everyone seems in for the night.”

“Right.” He leaned across the bed and kissed the nape of the other man’s neck. “I’ll be right back.” Jack felt himself flush at once. “Haha, fuck Morrison.” He felt Gabe lean close again, lips on his shoulder this time. “Can you be patient and wait for me to get back?” Fuck, fuck him. He nodded slowly and watched Gabe head upstairs, the kisses burning into his back. His back straightened and he listened to the washers and dryers rumble discordantly. First, Angela had pinned him down with ease in his old bedroom. It was welcome and was interrupted too suddenly, so amorous thoughts kept ticking in the back of his mind all day. He couldn’t touch Gabe at all past a joking slap on the back and anything more than a hand on Angela’s shoulder or a kiss on her head got looks from his mother. A few nights being fucked or fucking whenever he wanted had spoiled him. He bit his thumb before getting up to look in his bag. Well shit, he wanted to be spoiled. He slipped a condom and the near empty lube bottle into his sweatpants pocket before pulling back the covers of the pull-out mattress and laying down, looking over the edge of the couch a few times.

After his shower, Gabe checked on Angela, curled up on her side with her hands tucked under her cheek. She was indeed completely out, even snoring a bit. He kneeled next to the bed and thumbed back her curly hair behind her ear. 

“Angela…I didn’t get to say this before…” His fingers pulled at the threadbare sheets, looking over her sleeping features in the dark. “I love you too…I heard you…in the car. I love you too.” He chuckled softly, touching her pinky. She stirred barely. “I love you, Angela.” 

He headed out into the hall, after closing the door quietly. He moved through the dark house, preferring it to the boisterousness of the daytime. He came down the stairs to the basement, seeing the washers and dryers rumbling first. Jack was in bed watching the TV with the volume down low. Gabe dropped his towel over the edge of the edge of the couch and leaned into thin mattress, that creaked under both their weight. Gabe pulled Jack into the middle of the bed, their lips crashing together. A few moments in and Gabe had marked up Jack’s lower neck, moving down to his chest. Jack whimpered under Gabe, trying pull at his sweats and loose white top. Gabe pulled away from him a moment and Jack groaned, hissing out the word tease. 

“You know I like to hear you beg.” He murmured as he leaned close to the side of Jack’s face. Jack’s lips parted a little, closing his eyes as Gabe lowered himself down along Jack as he slipped off the loose fit sweat pants, his erection already graced with tiny droplets of pre-cum. “Cover your mouth.” Jack nodded and did so, barely in time as Gabe took him in his mouth with little warning or effort. Jack shoved the palm of his hand into his mouth as he whimpered and mumbled into it. Gabe teased his cock mercilessly, sometimes digging teeth into the other man's thighs, leaving marks and hickies. 

A slight revenge for the prior night, where he had been opened up by both Angela and Jack until he had, perhaps for the first time in his adult relationships, begged. In the odd blue-green light of the TV screen, Jack couldn't see Gabe's blush rush over his body. Or that his cock was hard along his thigh, trapped by his sweatpants, not that the blonde could focus on much more than how close he was getting. Gabe edged him out again, soft wet lips slipping away and Jack whimpered like he'd been kicked. His thighs and cock twitched but he kept good on forcing himself silent as Gabe kept him waiting and desperate. Gabe made him watch as he pulled down his own sweatpants and rolled the condom over his cock, pumping himself as he breathed through his nose, steadying himself. He had to beg Angela to let him come and worse of all, it was making him hot all over again. Jack smiled under his hand, tauntingly. Gabe flipped Jack to his side as he pulled the other man close, Jack's abused cock grew hard again after flagging a bit, excited as Gabe kissed his shoulders and neck before slowly pushing his way into him. A soft moan slipped out of Jack after he moved his hand. Gabe pressed his fingers quickly into the other man's mouth. 

"I'm not all the way in, shhh…”He growled into Jack’s ear. “Be quiet.” His free hand reached down Jack’s torso to the base of his cock, dark fingers caught in the blond curls. Jack’s tongue pressed against Gabe’s fingers, grinding his ass back into Gabe’s cock. The house creaked as the washing machines began their cycles, causing both men froze for a moment. Gabe’s eyes peered over the couch edge and they waited a few moments before Gabe pushed into Jack to the hilt of his cock. Jack whimpered and rocked back, drooling on Gabe’s hand while Gabe listened for anything that sounded outside the realm of the older house settling, hips moving minutely. God, it was just like being back in the barracks. 

“Gabe…” Jack mumbled as Gabe grasped his cock firmly, pumping it several times. He moved his hands away from both Jack’s mouth and cock. He pressed his teeth into Jack’s shoulders before pushing and fucking Jack against the thin mattress and pillows. He bit the top of other man’s ear. 

“I wanted to repay you for what you did the other night…” He purred darkly. Jack laughed breathlessly, ass lifting to Gabe’s steady pumps. He grunted, Jack squeezing around him. “God, you fuckin’ slut, Morrison.” 

“Haah, me…o-one to talk, Reyes. Still sore from the other night?” Jack asked, looking back at the other man. Cocky and begging all at once. Gabe bit his lip and doubled down on his strokes, Jack was forced to bite into a pillow to silence his louder and more eager noises, the bed creaking below. “Was it…hah, christ, what was it? Wreck me…sp-split me open, right?” Jack started again. Gabe grasped a handful of blond hair and pulled Jack’s head back a bit. Jack laughed, licking his lips. 

“Is that a request?” Gabe growled. 

“A-always…always...or do you w-want me to beg like you did?” Jack chuckled. Gabe pulled out almost entirely. “H-ha-hey, joking!” He gasped and whimpered, looking back as best he could as he raised his hips. “G-gabriel…y-you’re the worst… f-fuck me, wreck me.” 

“Mhmm…” He pressed deep back into Jack. “Keep talkin’, Jack.” He rode him hard, focusing on getting Jack closer to the edge. Jack gasped, shaking as he grasped the sheets at “Come on, Jack…”

“G-Gabriel…oh, fuck…oh.” He rocked back, covering his own mouth again to keep himself as Gabe reached around and began to pump his cock. Jack twisted and shuddered, squirming as Gabe’s hands and his stomach were coated in white threads of Jack’s cum. Jack panted breathing hard, run ragged and tired. “H-haha…hah, good god…Gabe…” He started to puddle and go limp in Gabe’s arms. 

“Good?”

“G-great. Fuck me…come in me…” He murmured as Gabe pushed back the blonde’s sweaty hair. Gabe chuckled in his ear. 

“ ‘m wearing a condom, sweetheart.” Gabe replied quietly, voice a little horse as he continued to pump into Jack, chasing after his own orgasm. He grabbed his lover’s arms as he seethed into his back with stray kisses. “God, Jack…” He groaned into Jack’s sweaty shoulder blade as he came, moving his hands to hold Jack’s hips tight into his. Jack leaned back and took the man’s chin in his fingers, kissing him deeply. “…I love you, Jack.” 

“I love you, Gabe…stay…” 

“I gotta clean us up.” Gabe chuckled, pulling away slowly. 

\--

_Angela woke up again, feeling the ship rocking, buffeted by the torrential storm, hearing Lena and Athena talking. Lena was asking for the lower hanger to be opened up, Athena gave an affirmative. Angela slide out of the seat, leaving behind the Pachimari plush behind and stood by the large glass door, watching speeding droplets ram against it like bullets. She could feel the ship turning slowly, beneath it she watched the metal platform opening up, spinning clockwise as the panels folded into themselves. The levels of unused hangers passed by them, streams of rain water dropping down to the hanger below. Her thoughts shifted from away from dreams to memories, to anxieties that Gibraltar symbolized. Gibraltar had been something of a home to her, she had many over the years but here...her heart pounded._

_She was tired still but restless, her fingers tapping on the handle. The ship landed, everything not nailed down rattled, shaking Angela. Lena again reminded the AI to be sneaky and not exactly lie if asked about Angela, half-answer it. Angela smiled gently as the doors opened on either side, picking up her suitcase as Lena appeared beside her, bouncing on the balls of her feet._

_“Ya ready, Doc?” She asked._

_“As much much as I could be.” Angela said honestly. Lena linked arms with the older woman and pulled her along. Angela followed her through the hanger to the elevator that would take them up to the main floor. It was so quiet, echoes of the storm filling the empty spaces. Athena, saving power, only lit up the spaces before the two women, turning off the lights behind them. Angela looked back down the dark spaces, feeling uneasy. It felt like ghosts lingered near the edges of the shadows, malignant memories that twisted into new life. Angela leaned closer into the younger woman and they walked faster to the next elevator. A short ride led to another hall, branching off to the dorms to the left and the stairwell to the meeting rooms. Angela could hear Winston’s booming warm voice in the mess hall, intermingling the Reinhardt’s louder voice, interjections by a fussier Trobjorn. She slowed and watched Lena go on ahead, impish grin on her face before turning solemn._

_“‘Ello, sorry to say, Dr. Ziegler will not be joinin’ us this evening.” Lena sighed. She listened to the grumbling. “Or…at all.” A louder collective groan._

_“Well…can we blame her?” Reinhardt asked. Angela stood by the doorway listening, fussing with her clothes. “Winston…perhaps we have made a mistake.” There was a little uptick in argument, not necessarily angry but tired of conversation that must have been repeated._

_“Reinhardt, ya dragged me here!” Trobjorn growled. “Givin’ me a big speech about duty an’ honor! Good ol’ days this, in Jack’s memory that…”_

_“Oh, Reinhardt!” Lena sighed, the usual lightness in her voice dulled. “Come one, don’t give up like that!”_

_“I hope you do not think so little of me that I would not come…” Angela said, unable to keep herself from stepping forward. She was unaware that her eyes were teary and her cheeks were wet but she smiled brightly around the table._

_“Angela….” Reinhardt stood at once, looming over her. He laughed and grabbed her, taking her into tight hug. “ANGELA, YOU DEVILISH GIRL!”_

_“Oh, goodness, Reinhardt. I’m hardly a girl.” She looked up at him and touched his cheek as the old man laughed and started to grow weepy. “Wilhelm, come now. It’s so good to see you. To see you all.” She went around the table and greeted everyone with hugs. “Trobjorn…” The older man shook his head, grumpy for a moment until she kissed his forehead. “I hope you and the family have been well.” Lena beamed at Winston as Angela hugged him before stepping back and looking at them all again. “Well…what we are doing is very illegal.”_

_The mess hall filled with laughter despite that very real knowledge._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations (subject to be edited):
> 
> Alles in Ordnung: Are you okay?  
> Natürlich ... Ich bin ein Profi an diesem. Bis fast seine ganze Familie füllt die Küche: Of course, I'm a professional at that. Until almost all of his family fill the kitchen.  
> Mir geht es gut, keine Sorge. Sitzen: I'm fine, do not worry. Sit.  
> kommen Sie mit mir herunter?: Come down with me?  
> Bitte: Please  
> Hast du Angst: Are you scared?  
> Nur ein bisschen: just a bit.  
> Iya: mother (Yoruba)
> 
> \----------  
> Again, I want to thank everyone who has left kudos, bookmarked and subscribed. Comments can and do really make my day as well. It means a lot to me because I do try to put a lot of thought and work into this fic. I can't promise twice a month updates but that's what i will aim for. 
> 
> If you ever wonder what I'm listening to while writing, [ here ](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-DRlOm8lHyrTMcKA2daD1NW-EwiPvST8) is my playslist i have been slowly building. 
> 
> Also, since my roommate pushed me to write this, I pushed her to write her own Mchanzo fic, Learning to Listen. I highly recommend it!
> 
> PS. A life update: At this time, i am in the very early steps of working towards converting to Judaism. While I started writing with the headcanon of Angela's Jewish parentage before I started studying to and talking to my rabbi, I do feel in a way, this fic has helped cement my beliefs and willingness to convert. I think it will be a much stronger thread throughout the chapters but nothing overbearing, I promise.


	11. All-American Summer: Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A change of scenery and focus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -tw for graphic descriptions of violence and gore, medical practices, allusions to self-harm, and anti-lgbtq attitudes

_Loud, trance hip-hop filled the dark halls of an old Blackwatch base. In front of a hundred or so screens played, some showing the news, others showing surveillance around the building, a young person with glowing, body wide upgrades sat on the table, rocking to the beat as they worked on reverse engineering the Caduceus staff. They wore loose, bright green sweats and cut up, over-sized black t-shirt with a skull cut out in the back. Fans and generators hummed underneath the dark beats of their music, keeping the room from overheating._  
_They looked up at the screens with a squint behind their large plastic goggles as one of the screens flashed, they put down the staff carefully and stood up on the table and enlarged the screen between their thumb and middle finger. The massive data haul from the Zurich mission was finally all theirs. Took long enough. They smirked a little and shimmed a little as the song changed, expanding the screen to block out the others and settled in for a nice, long evening._  
_\--_  
_They cracked their neck and spun around in their swivel chair, a large bag of overly cheesy chips in their lap as the files began to unfold before them so very nicely. What ugly things they were making at a place that was supposed to be for medical breakthroughs. Nerve gases, poisons, population debilitating viruses, portable weapons of mass destruction. They licked their lips, should they bother with blackmail or just send it right to the top? Choices, choices. They could tuck away these files for a bit, wait until the right time. They tapped their nose in thought before turning to the last, largest file that had remained a challenge through the late evening and early morning. Many files both about and by Dr. Zeigler were excessively protected, locked up with code after code. They tapped their fingers impatiently on the messy desk, eyes scanning over the Caduceus nearby. That was one thing that was not passcode protected…however they could assume there was information in the files that they need. They shoved a handful of chips in their mouth and chewed noisily, speeding through the other files again at almost lightspeed for phrases that seemed to stick out. But it seemed Zeigler was either uninvolved or unaware of what her colleagues were working on, as her name didn’t appear cross referenced in the other files._  
_The attack on Zurich, they thought, something seemed off about the whole evening. As they had hacked into the mainframe, Dr. Zeigler’s files were already in the middle of being hacked. So they just took over the unknown hack, and then the rest of the files they could get their hands on. It had bothered them for a while know, since they were not able to locate in such a short time of where hack was coming from. Another handful of chip, wiping their nose with the back of their hand. Reaper pulling such a weird stunt. Didn’t he want Dr. Zeigler dead? They had seen the videos…_  
_They looked through the other files again, looking for some weakness in the good doctor’s surprisingly well encrypted tracks. They clicked on a video file , watching it but only partly as they started working on the Caduceus again. An older Asian man in white overcoat spoke into the camera, showing the work of various poisons on animal subjects. He didn’t seem necessarily proud of his work but he turned to the camera again after showing several slides describing the breakdown of cells._  
_“Project Chava is the biggest untested threat to the work we are doing here. What we have been told about the incident whose ruins we stand on, most if not all damage done by nerve gas, Dr. Lee’s decay viruses, bullet wounds, wounds from explosives, can be undone. That is all in theory, however.” Grotesque, gory images appeared on screen and Sombra twisted away, feeling their stomach protest. “ Hell, the bionanites ability to rebuild limbs and almost seamlessly become part the body has barely even been tested to its full capabilities, possibly making the replaced elements stronger than before. Not that she would let us attempt to examine her work at such lengths! Dr. Zeigler is my colleague, of course, her work as a lifesaver is well documented. But Project Chava…headed by a woman of Dr. Zeigler’s history…well, could be dangerous. We do not know where Dr. Zeigler’s loyalties lie, much less anything about her studies. ”_  
_They squinted a bit, biting their inner lip in thought, tapping the desk. Project Chava seemed too on the nose. They tried it anyway, denied entry. They had turned down their music to think clearly. Had to be good, right? Often this was easy for them, so they enjoyed a through challenge when they could get it. They tossed their dyed hair over their shoulder, looking for something to wipe their sweaty hands off on._  
_“…I thought you said you were going to clean this shit up.” A voice said from behind them. They jumped out of their chair, pulling out a large taser from their sweatpants pocket. The figure didn’t flinch. They lowered it with a huff staring at their “colleague” in black before putting their weapon away._  
_“Learn how to knock.” They sat down in their chair again, turning off the alarms they had missed while zoning out. Rather than snapping back, he dropped a plastic bag down on the desk. He was covered head to toe; beanie, hoodie, black jeans, basic looking boots, black-knit gloves, sunglasses, and his mouth covered by a bandana. They didn’t know how he went out in public at all but he did, without being arrested at that. Sheer intimidation, they assumed. They looked in the bag and looked back at him. “You look like the first sketch of a bank robber. Where’s my twinkies?” He didn’t answer her, looking at the screen instead._  
_“It’s winter in the desert. Zurich?” Smoke rose from beneath his glasses and bandana._  
_“Mh-hmm.” They muttered under their breath. “Eating my damn twinkies…”_  
_“Sombra…”_  
_“What?” They snipped. They looked over him again. “Do you even feel the cold?”_  
_“What have you found?” His voice gravely, like a growl even when he was calm. He didn’t answer their question._  
_“Nothing really, yet…” They lied. He walked off into the other room, saying nothing to them. Sombra watched him before turning back to their screen. They dug in the bag for the energy patches they desperately needed before getting back to work, turning their music up again._  
_\---_  
_Reaper headed down the dark familiar hallways, pulling up his bandana to eat a twinkie as Sombra’s music pulsed throughout the building. He headed through the old lounge area, putting away the other groceries in the large, empty kitchen. If he wasn’t here, he wasn’t sure how Sombra would eat. His space was makeshift, cleaner than the rest of the base and especially cleaner than Sombra’s space._  
_He returned the dark lounge room, taking off the bandana before dropping down on the couch, putting his boots up on the armrest as he pulled down his hoodie over his eyes. This self-imposed exile from Talon was needed but he was running low on funds and meds. Merc jobs outside of Talon didn't pay as well, or when they did, they crossed lines he rather not cross. Sombra had hijacked and converted the old Blackwatch base in the middle of the Mojave Desert, a good two hours to minor sites of civilization. Even then, the building was a solid story beneath the ground, soundproof. Sombra loved to test the limits of that fact._  
_He grunted to himself, the inside of his mouth tasting like sweetness and ash, smoke rising from his lips, half asleep. His brain wandered back to his run in with Zeigler, that failed mission in Zurich._  
_And now she was missing. Rumors from covert UN sources about her being in Iraq, then...gone._  
_He had other things to focus on. The vigilante who was targeting Talon backed banks, businesses, and allies. Two weeks ago, a minor arms trade went south, 15 men dead and 6 incapacitated. The weapons, those that weren't missing, were destroyed. Surveillance footage showed the vigilante slipping in, and and slipping out within the hour. Footage from inside the building had been destroyed._  
_He was unsure how long he had been out but woke up to Sombra leaning against the doorway eating cereal from a metal pot. Their hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and they had changed their shirt to a cut up Pachimari top._  
_“Afternoon, I got something to show you.” They smirked, very proud. He swung his legs around to the floor and sat up, taking his time to crack his neck and check his watch. Sombra started heading back down the hallway, carrying their ceral with them._  
_He followed them back into their workspace. Two screens took up the main wall as Sombra sat down at their chair. One screen was a still from a video was open, Angela sitting at her desk , her eyes downcast. The other screen was dedicated to opening and closing files as Sombra’s cross-referencing search ran through them. “...I haven’t watched this yet.”_  
_“Play it.”_  
\--  
Beth was the cool aunt. She dressed differently than the rest of the Morrison family, was good at the VR games the kids played, and let the girls do her makeup before dinner. She also came bearing gifts, which seemed to cement her best aunt standing. She was model-esque, her hair dyed black, and cut into a fashionable bob. She wore flowing dark clothing and large chunky silver jewelry. She seemed mostly attentive to conversations that centered her or family drama; souring at mentions of religion.  
In the evening after a late start to the day, the house was packed even fuller with friends of the family that came over for barbeque and outside games. The party’s guests were made up of farmers and their families, church-going friends, Beth’s musician friends, and members of Jack’s high school football team and peers. A post- Fourth of July get-to-together as well as homecoming party for Jack.  
Angela was suddenly glued to Jack’s side, not of her own volition; partly playing tertiary host and hostess, an uncomfortable role for them both as Tami showed off her son and his girlfriend. Gabe hovered around the edges of the party, forced to make small talk with those who cornered him.  
As the night began to wind down, Beth slipped her arm through Angela’s and pulled her way from thinning crowd in the kitchen.  
“Don’t let my mother make you clean up after this party. You’ve done enough today.” Beth said with certainty, marching her out of the house to leave her sisters-in-law with clean up duty. Beth had been the life of the party, easily flitting from one social group to another. She took the other woman along with her down to edge of the yard, to the metal chairs placed in a circle around an ashen space, filled with leftover charcoal and sticks from small fires. Beth grabbed some firewood nearby the circle, talking away as she set up wood with practiced hands, getting ash on her cloths. “Jack’s high school friends want to go out. We should go out…not tonight, tomorrow. Would you like that? There’s a bar, it’s not too fancy or anything but it’s nice. Very nostalgic for me, really. Had my first kiss and first drink there.” She made her fingers like she was holding a pen, checking off an invisible checklist.  
“I…yes, I think so.” Angela slipped in. Beth smiled brightly, lighting the fire despite the warmth of the day still hanging over the evening. She reached into her deep pockets of her dark green flowy pants, pulling out a baggie filled with several joints. She put it to her lips and lit it, inhaling deeply before passing to Angela. “I don’t usually smoke…”  
“It’s easy, inhale, yeah…” She nodded to Angela, “Hold it deep, you’ll cough…” Angela handed it back to Beth and started coughing loudly, leaning away from the other woman. Beth laughed and brought the joint back to her lips. “What do you think of the Morrison family…are we all you expected? Or hoped for?” Beth asked, she took off her sandals and brought her legs up to her chest as she smoked. She didn’t offer Angela anymore and Angela didn’t want anymore.  
“…I feel very welcomed.” Angela said slowly, deliberately. Beth laughed.  
“They’re weird, it’s alright to admit. I don’t snitch.” She said rolling her eyes a bit, holding up the joint. “You haven’t even met my brother Ted. Christ on a cracker. Listen, my parents only used to marginally religious before the Crisis right? Now it’s a real big deal.” She shook her head, annoyed as she looked off towards the house. “I remember my mother getting in fights with my granddad about religion. It seems hypocritical, now.” She pushed her hair behind her ear. “So don’t feel the need to kowtow to any of their shit really.”  
“Don’t worry. I don’t feel any need to bend myself.” Angela said with a straight face. Beth covered her lips before laughing, loudly.  
“Good, good.”  
“Tell me about the museum you work for?” Angela asked.  
“Oh, it’s nice, very big for an art museum. We have several revolving collections. Our biggest, most popular collection right now is Memories of the Crisis. Photography, paintings, film, even writings from warzones are on display. It’s an international collection, next year it will be moving to Mexico City after moving around to a few more US cities.” Beth finished off her joint, throwing the very end of it in the flames. “It’s an intense collection, of course. People were usually very effected.”  
“Are you?”  
“I thought of Jack often, seeing the pieces that would come in. In the faces of veterans and refugees to the States visiting. The destruction that both the Omnics and we have had hand in. Often, people would tell me, it would be nice when it was over, things would go back to how they should be. I didn’t want to tell them that was unlikely to happen.” She leaned back in her seat. “ I didn’t live through bombings or having to run from my home. But I worried, constantly about Jack…and my proximity to the work and the memories made physical, sometimes made that worry unbearable.” The youthful, sprite-like woman turned solemn in front of her. “God, I wish I brought that bottle of red wine with me.  
It’s strange, you know. I suppose you don’t. You are an only child, aren’t you? But to know that your parents are so focused on one child over the others, well you feel it deeply.” Beth went on. Angela said nothing, letting the woman speak. “It was always Jack and Rich versus me and Teddy when we were younger. And then Jack goes off to war, suddenly this our whole lives. I’m not like Teddy, I don’t hold grudges. He holds all that shit that Rich and Jack did without him as kids against Jackie. Rich is so laid-back, he doesn’t mind being second-best at things. But Jackie’s such a golden boy. I wonder if he even knows, or his ignorance of it all is an act.” She pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it, smoking it steadily. Angela felt her jaw set unconsciously. “You know, the first time Jack came home for the holidays, he came with Gabe. And every time after too. My suddenly God-fearing parents began to worry, not only about losing their son to war but also to being gay, and my brother, Reverend Teddy, thought it would be best to stir the pot.  
So, I suppose that is why you are here? A cover for Jack and Gabe? I mean besides being his friend. Because, really, if you weren’t a doctor, acting would be for you. The way you look at him...mhm, maybe it’s that whole glowing aura shit he has going. You know how to sell the whole heterosexual image, however.”  
“I am with him.” Angela said, her jaw still tight. She wanted to continue the statement to include Gabe but she worried about the cross-faded woman she was speaking with and what she would say to others. “I’m no one’s cover.”  
“...to the point, haha.” Beth laughed with a snort. “Well, that’s good.” The other woman did not seem entirely convinced. She didn’t have time to make comment of it as Jack and Gabe came around to sit around the fire. The conversation swung away from conversations about relationships and focused more on the growing up in the Morrison household. Beth pulled out the second joint and passed it to her borther and Gabe as they drank.  
“I told Angela about Harold.” Jack smiled, sipping from his lukewarm beer.  
“Christ.” Beth groaned. “That fucking hideous thing. I swear Dad made it just to cause trouble between us because he was bored.”  
“You probably aren’t wrong.” Jack passed the joint to Gabe.  
“I’m not. You know why? Dad told me. He thought it was so funny. He only took it away because Ma was getting pissed.” Jack laughed with Gabe as Angela leaned back in her seat.  
“It’s still around here right?”  
“No, Teddy burned it.”  
“HA!” Jack barked. “No way, Beth.”  
“Nope, he did last summer.” Beth took back the joint from Angela who passed it from Gabe to her. “Poor Harold, even if he put me in therapy.”  
“A scarecrow did not put you in therapy.” Jack sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. She flicked the butt of the joint in the fire again.  
“It did.” She looked at Angela seriously. “Once, Rich paid Jack five dollars to eat a whole pack of gum and then put in my hair.”  
“Jack…” Angela looked at the man through the fire. He shrugged a little, smiling.  
“I don’t know, the close shave was a good look for you that summer.” Jack snorted as Beth reached over and hit his arm. “Beth glued tampons in my nose.” Gabe spit his beer into the fire, laughing loudly while trying to cover his mouth.  
\--  
_“Alright, let’s play this….” Sombra tapped the screen. The video started._  
_Angela looked up at the camera, tapping her fingers, in the background, classical music could be heard playing. She looked exhausted as she tied back her hair, no longer blonde, but her natural dark brown. She shimmed out of her white lab coat and let it hang on the back of her chair. Reaper could hear Sombra audibly gasp and twist away from the sight of Angela’s left arm, scarred with lightning looking marks that crawled down her to her forearm. She turned a bit in her seat and he could see the table behind her, set with syringes, gauze, a clamp, and what looked like a stationary laser wielder. When she spoke, both Talon agents jumped. She held up a small vial of a clear fluid._  
_“…this is a sample of Dr. Lee’s project. It is what he calls…a decay poison. It is colorless and odorless. Ingested, it basically strips down cellular structure, resulting in rapid organ failure. Death in 3 hours or less. Inhaled, death is faster, skin and bone decay, destruction of eyes, nostrils, and throat. The brain follows suit, a matter of 30 minutes.” Her voice was even, quiet. Reaper’s eyes followed her lips, while Sombra sat frozen in their seat, one leg uncurled from under them, the chair turned slightly away from the screen. “…I am mostly making this video for myself. I don’t doubt that eventually, Agent Braun, it will somehow find itself into your hands. Another thing to hold over me, I suppose. I didn’t know…at first, what my colleagues were making here. I am secretive and so in turn, they are too. I found out the truth, eventually. I suppose part of me always knew. Of course, life-saving medicines and procedures are being developed as well. But this,” she holds up the vial, “illegal under the Geneva Convention agreements, a potential weapon of mass destruction, is made not in some Talon faculty but here._  
_Project Valkyrie is my project that is known to the world, the Valkyrie suit, the Caduceus, the parts of my study that are open and available as lifesaving services across our planet...but Project Chava is…what I have left.” She smiled, very small and slow before turning away from the camera. She pulled over the table on wheels, setting up the stationary wielder. The laser burned blue, silent as she picked up one of the syringes, beginning to numb her arm. She waited a few moments before attaching the mechanized metal clamp to her upper arm, below her shoulder. She picked up an empty syringe from the side table, inhaling deeply before stabbing it through the rubber cap of the vial._  
_"Turn it off." He barked. Sombra already had. There was a long silence between them, filling the room. Both of them were killers, blood was on both their hands. But this...this was something else entirely. The video could have been faked, he thought but it hardly eased him._  
_Go ahead...kill me, she had said._  
_"Reaper...hey, Gabriel?"_  
_"What!?"_  
_"You're...deteriorating?" They pointed to the tendrils of smoke rising from his body. He growled and left the room without comment, heavy boots thudding on the metal floor. Sombra sat in their chair, arms wrapped around their torso, staring off in thought._  
_It would be a long while before Sombra slipped back into lounge room, momentarily spooked by Reapers eyes standing out in the dark, red and almost blazing._  
_"...so..."_  
_"Whats in Zeigler's files?"_  
_"...gibberish, she basically corrupted her own files. Nothing of real use, any use …not for the caduceus or Valkyrie suit. The other files lifted from Zurich, info about the decay poison, nerve gas...Devastating stuff. Stuff Talon will want. Stuff I owe them...I mean" they clicked their tongue on the back of their teeth._  
_"Sombra..."_  
_"Hey, they come to me because I'm the best. Your average hacker would have given up seeing all the shit I worked through to get this." He stared forward past them. "I could blackmail Zeigler with what we have. She's practically part of this. It would ruin her image...shit, just her voice discussing what that poison did. We could fuck up the UN and the World Health Organization."_  
_"...hold on to it for now."_  
_"Huh? Estás loco?,"_  
_"...you heard me. Sit on it." Sombra opened their mouth but closed it slowly. They leaned against the wall. "Talon has agents in the UN, the WHO, and other agencies. It'll fuck up their cover if we start leaking now. We don't need that."_  
_"...right." they sighed. Silence again. "Listen, Gabe." They saw him tense at the name. "It was good you didn't kill her." He looked up at them, his brows dipped and jaw set. "... We would have had nothing other than the caduceus and Valkyrie suit. It's clear she's been pulling a long con on the UN. And I mean...if she is, I have to give her props there." They laughed dryly. “Hell! We even helped cover the tracks. But it’s clear, she has been thinking in survival mode for the last 5 years. If not for herself…then at least for her work.” He said nothing, instead taking out his pack of cigarettes and lighter from his hoodie pocket. He lit the cigarette and lifted up the bandana to smoke._  
_“Tell Talon what you need to tell them...” He stood up. “I don’t want them sending anyone else after Zeigler.” His burner cell started going vibrating in his pocket. “…Hold on.” He answered it with a ‘yeah’ before listening quietly for a long time. “Right.” He hung up. “I have a job. I’ll be gone a few days.” He walked past Sombra. “Remember to actually eat something real.”_  
_“Reaper, there’s something else.”_  
_“What?” He stopped, turning to look at them. They bit the inside of their lip realizing now was not the time to bring up what else they had found, dropping the USB drive from their fingers that they held tightly in their pocket._  
_“…bring me back Twinkies, panzón.” They said before slipping away into the kitchen. He narrowed his eyes, his jaw set as he headed down the halls._  
\--  
Teddy Morrison was at the breakfast table the next morning, Meredith sitting on his lap as she ate her cereal. His wife Samantha helped Tami in the kitchen. Angela entered the room slowly, up before any of the others. She realized she wished that one of them were there, as a shield for her. Teddy looked a lot like Jack with sandy blonde hair, younger obviously, smaller in build. He looked up and smiled.  
“Mornin’, Angela.” Tami greeted her. “Breakfast will be ready soon.”  
“Meredith, Daddy needs to get up and greet Uncle Jack’s lady friend.” He scooted back the chair and picked up Meredith, to get up from under her and sitting her back down. He walked over to Angela and extended his hand, warmly. Angela took it and they shook. “Let’s talk outside, shall we?”  
“Dr. Angela Zeigler..." He said as they stood on the front porch outside the kitchen. It was a warm morning but in the distance, Angela could see thunderheads gathering along the horizon. "How are you liking it here?"  
"It's nice...a very different pace from before of course. Much slower. I like it."  
"Good. Well, you are part of the reason the Omnic scourge was defeated, correct? We have this way of life still because of it." Teddy said. Angela looked down and then over the front yard, bugs droning loudly. "Do you pray, Angela? I can call you, Angela right?"  
"Yes, that's fine. And only, when I need to." She said with some hesitancy. He chuckled.  
"I'm guessing that's a lot then, coming back from a war zone."  
"...perhaps." Angela murmured. "...I've been in many warzones..." Teddy nodded slowly.  
"My brother's good to you?" He asked. Angela felt herself straighten out.  
"Of course, he's a good man. Supportive and positive." She said, Teddy's face seemed unchanged by her words. "Tell me about yourself."  
"Well, I'm a reverend. My church is in the next town over, I also do couples therapy for newlyweds mostly. Samantha and I married junior year of high school."  
"I've heard that a lot."  
"Mhm?"  
"People marrying young, because of the Crisis, mostly."  
"Well, it's God's will, I believe." Angela looked at him. People thought they were going to die.  
"...I entered college then..."  
"At 17?"  
"Yes. I had jumped ahead a few years, in elementary and junior high, by the time I was in 10th year, I was almost done." Angela fixed her hair. “I went to seminary for a year after college.” His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “But after losing my parents, I went back to medicine.”  
“ Episcopalian? Catholic?” He asked.  
“My mother was Catholic, yes.” Teddy seemed almost uneasy with Angela's comment and quickly reframed the conversation.  
"As I was working on seminary, we adopted Shoshanna and Stephen.”  
"Oh..." Angela said, the ages in her mind now making sense. "Shoshanna looks so much like her mother, I would have never guessed." Teddy nodded, his fingers tapping on the wooden railing.  
"What do you plan to do after this?"  
"Well, there's still areas that need help, humanitarian efforts that I plan to commit to. The main threat is gone, yes but I’m sure there will be more instances. Overwatch...I don't know if it will remain. It would be wonderful really... but I am committed to helping where I can."  
"Do you and Jack have plans to get married?" He needled. Angela felt heat raise through her.  
"If we are speaking traditionally, I suppose you would have to ask Jack." Angela smiled just a little. Jack opened the door. "Speak of the devil."  
"Teddy, when did you get in?"  
"Early morning, I've just been busy with counseling and service planning I stayed in town.” "Glad you are here now. House didn’t feel full enough.” Jack joked. It seemed hollow. Teddy chuckled but barely. “I see you've met Angela.” Jack’s hand sat on her hip, smiling. “I hope I haven’t interrupted the conversation.” Angela grabbed Jack’s hand to keep him there by her side. Teddy didn’t seem to notice, his eyes focused on the kitchen through the window where Gabe was talking with Samantha and Tami.  
“I was wondering where your right-hand man was, Jack.” Teddy said looking back at them. “Never far, it seems.” Jack just smiled at Teddy.  
“How’s the ministry going, Ted? Flock any bigger? Raised enough money for a megachurch yet?” Jack leaned over Angela a bit as he spoke to Teddy. He didn’t seem to bother hiding his annoyance. Teddy laughed a bit.  
“Goodness Jack, no need to be so hostile.” Teddy grabbed Jack’s shoulder firmly with a wide smile. “Come on, now. Angela, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with my brother. Alone.” Angela looked back at Jack for a moment.  
“Alright…don’t be late for breakfast.” She said. Jack nodded, his jaw tight as he looked back to his brother. She headed back inside as Beth was turning up the radio on the kitchen counter, wearing a translucent dark green robe over flowing pajamas. She started slowly dancing towards Meredith as the little girl blushed into her cereal. She picked her up and put her on her hip, holding out her hand with hers. Samantha sighed as her sister-in-law swung around with her daughter, singing along with the song, a little out of tune.  
“Angela, we should go out today. Get you something to wear tonight to the bar.” Beth said still dancing.  
“Beth, it’s just a bar…” Gabe sighed, getting the plates down from the upper part of the cabinet for Tami.  
“Never miss an opportunity to dress up.” She put Meredith back in her seat as the song ended. “That’s a tip from me to you.” She tapped the girl’s nose before walking over and turning the radio down. “It’ll be fun. Get away from the house for a little bit,” She looked outside where Jack and Teddy talked, “check out a few of the stores. It’ll be fun. Samantha, you should come along.” Samantha shook her head slowly.  
“I was teaching the children today. I don’t want them falling behind in their schooling.”  
  
\--  
_Reaper settled into the back of the unmarked Blackwatch van, parked in a near vacant parking -garage. He smelled of someone else’s blood, gunpowder, and death. He stripped out of his clothes, folding away in the duffle bag he brought along. The screen of his phone lit up, lighting up the back of the van as he changed into a long-sleeve black shirt and dark denim jeans. Payment. He picked up the phone and looked at the amount. 6 men dead, 50k. He pulled out a cigarette from his hoodie pocket and lit it, smoking thoughtfully. Digging in the duffle bag, he pulled out a pill bottle. He counted the pills, a week’s worth left. He took one, chugging the rest of his water bottle with it._  
_Outside of town, he thought about how he was only a half day drive from his family. He thought about how poorly that would go and tried to get comfortable on the thin mattress. That's not your family anymore, that's a dead man's family. He put the cigarette out in the overfilled ashtray._  
_Early morning he'd head to some small town in New Mexico to clear out some assholes who owed big time. Clearly their lives didn't mean that much to those paying him, but he needed the money. He would need to buy more of Talon's stabilizing drugs, as well as something for his chronic pain. But for now, he needed to rest. He attempted several times, turning on either side before giving up and settling on his back, even as it pained him with dull ache._  
_He thought of Angela, numbing her arm, face expressionless as she worked. She still looked so much younger. But her eyes...her eyes carried the years and knowledge. They had fought before his “death”, the memories hazy here and sharp there. He remembered her lips, her tears, and his blood. He was rescued by Talon and it took him near a year after Zurich to stabilize and gain control of what he had become. He fled several times from Talon, only to come back on the edge of monstrosity. He hated what she had made of him and Talon only seemed to spur his anger on._  
_He watched her. Kept tabs on her. Her work was seen as valuable, necessary. It just had to be taken. Ironically, the UN seemed to have similar feelings towards her, several of their informants had told them. From what Sombra found too. What he had seen. He had watch black cars follow her wherever she went. She had noticed too, from the beginning. But she kept her head high, walked into the arms of her captors and did her hero work with a stamp of their approval. She kept up a good face for the heroes. That was part of the problem as well. She kept the neat and clean image of Overwatch alive, the sanitized version for the history books._  
_But then, orders came down for her death. Take her work, and kill her. She was a threat suddenly. He tapped his fingers on the mattress, he turned over._  
_His hand around her throat, all the anger he had cultivated for years against her burned so brightly, melted into a bitter melancholy when she spoke to him, not knowing who...what he was. So gently yet so self-assuredly, she asked for death. But how he had seen her fight for life. Draw another man’s blood to live. An avowed pacifist, my ass. He replayed it all several times, his emotions muddled, his jaw set tight and he gripped the sheets on the bed. He sat up, his back aching terribly now, lighting another cigarette._  
_-_  
_"Come here...let me see." Angela sat up in the bathtub, her hair tied up. He crossed from the hotel room into the white marble bathroom in his boxers. "Sit here." She patted the bathtub corner. He did so and she reached up looking over her own work, the built in flexible metal brace, reinforcing his spine and lower ribs. He hands were warm and wet against his back. She sat up on the wider part of the tub's edge, bubbles sliding down her warm brown skin; she touched his scarred back, shoulder blades, and along his spine, the skin lighter and new. He winced a few times and looked back at her. "...it doesn't feel like you are dealing with an infection. You do hold a lot a of stress throughout your back.” Her face was thoughtful._  
_"Doesn't everyone?"_  
_"Jack holds it in his hips." Angela said, massaging a knot loose. He leaned back into her hands, closing his eyes. "I think you should wear the support tonight, take Advil. When we get back to Gibraltar I’ll take a better look at it." He sighed but said nothing as she worked on him. He felt her arms wrap around his waist, her damp, bare breasts on his back. He shivered turning to her, her lips connecting softly with his before pulling away. “Let’s not miss Sawn Lake.”_  
_-_  
_He woke up on his side, panting, hand warm and sticky like a fucking teenager with his first wet dream. He chuckled weakly, wincing as his body began to decay and rejuvenate at once. It never got any easier, just less surprising. The van filled with black smoke for a while, clearing as the sun rose. He checked his phone once before putting it on the charger. Next to it was his mask. He picked it up, looking over it in the near dark. He put it away in the duffle bag. It was time to get going._

\--  
Angela looked at the dresses at the store while Beth talked with one of the employees about the vintage clothing. Beth looked at one of the white dresses and called Angela over.  
"Look at this, do you like it?" Angela looked over the lacy long sleeve, short skirt number. Beth turned it around showing off near backless element. "The long sleeves are what are giving me pause. It'll be warm..." She thought looking at the snap collar of it. "...I knew this looked familiar...God damnit, mother."  
"What?" Angela asked putting down a scarf she was looking at for Ana. Beth showed her a faded, reddish-pink stain on the collar of the dress. "What is that?"  
"Hyun-ah's Sweet Innocence lipstick. My friend...my girlfriend for a while. We are still in touch actually, I went to her wedding a few years back. She lives in Texas now with her wife. God, mom flipped on me when she saw this... then she saw the lipstick marks on my back. She must have dumped this off with my older clothes, when I moved out. Ma'am...can I talk to you about this dress?"  
-  
"I don't how Samantha does it..." Beth said in the changing room, waiting for Angela to try on a few things.  
"Hmm?" Angela asked looking over the green sleeveless dress, that cut off at her knees in the changing room.  
"Put up with my brother. Just goodness, the woman...I love her but I don't think she has ever had her own opinion on anything." Beth sighed exasperated.  
"They married very young." Angela said as she came out of changing room.  
"CHRIST, I know. Mhmm...it doesn't do your body justice. You look like mother of the bride. Try that teal number. I went to the wedding...it was like a funeral. No drinks, the music was very uptight. 5 Five kids later, two adopted, three yours. It's a lot. Diane is fun, we get along. She just doesn't like me smoking. And I know she thinks I am immature." Angela listened as she changed into the teal dress that bunched around the neck and hit her mid-thigh. She looked at herself closely, noticing the tiny scars along her arms. “...sometimes I wonder how we live together." Angela stepped out. "Ooh, very pretty. Turn around."  
"You mean, your family?"  
"...well yes. But on a grand scale too. We barely understand ourselves and then we make robots. It's amazing we all aren't dead on dead rock in space." She stood up and looked closely at the dress. "It's a little baggy..." She pulled at the excess material. "...maybe the red one...the maxi skirt one, yes." There was a long silence as Angela changed clothes. She peeked her head out to see Beth staring off.  
"Beth?"  
"Hmm?" The woman looked at her. She wore the same expression that Jack did when he was thinking and zoning out, jaw set and posture rigid.  
"You were saying?"  
"...I'm sorry I totally blanked, dear." Beth sighed. Angela finished changing and looked at herself a few times in the mirror before heading out. Beth smiled looking over her.  
"It looks nice. Do you like it?"  
"I do...were you going to try on the lace one?"  
"No...no, you should though. Just to see how it feels." Angela nodded heading back into the dressing room. "You're Swiss, Angela...but...your parents?" Ah, this was question Gabe talked about. Angela slipped out of the red dress. It was uncomfortable.  
"My mother was Nigerian. My father was a German Jew."  
"Oh...I see. Jack...told me you lost them young."  
"...yes." Angela stood in front of the mirror.  
"The rest of your family?”  
"My father's side...didn't speak to him. He was already sort of the outsider in the family. My mother's family was friendly but distant." She stepped into the white lace dress and clipped the collar. She could see the scars on her legs, the larger ones on her thighs hidden by the material. She turned and saw some on her back as well. She couldn't help but feel overly self-conscious.  
"Are you dressed, let me see?" Angela stepped out. "Oh, it fits so well, do you like it?"  
"I’m a... little...aware of my legs and back."  
"Angela, you look wonderful. You just came back from the Crisis, for crissakes. I mean, that's why wanted you to try because I knew it would look good." Beth touched the material and smiled. “Yes?”  
“…I suppose so, yes.” Angela caved in as Beth smiled brightly.  
“Good, good!”  
-  
Beth smoked as they sat outside a café in the town square. Beth didn’t go back to Angela’s past, focusing on monuments of her youth, pointing out places where she spent her youth. Beth flirted with the waiter, large sunglasses hiding her eyes as she smiled at the young man.  
“It would be nice to have a sister-in-law to have something in common with. Kids are great, but they become your whole world when you have them.” She put out the cigarette in the ashtray. “You don’t plan on marrying my brother, though do you?”  
“…I’m not ready for marriage, honestly. I still have so much work to do with Overwatch and if not that, I have research I need to do.” Beth nodded and smiled very softly.  
“I’ll be right back. If the waiter comes by let him know to refill my iced tea.” She stood and walked into the café. Angela slipped her phone out of her pocket and looked at the messages that had accumulated.  
_Jack: Hey, Gabe told me my sister kidnapped you to go shopping. How is that?_  
_Angela: Fine, we are getting something to eat at this café in the town center. It’s nice. I have a dress for tonight._  
_Jack: It’s just a bar?_  
_Angela: I know. She seemed keen on it, though._  
_Jack: Well, Gabe and I got dragged into my brother’s bible study. So, there’s that._  
_Angela: Tell Gabe not the tense his jaw so much, it shows he’s irritated when he’s pretending to be neutral._  
_Jack: *laughing emoji*_  
_Angela: And don’t roll your eyes. You do it more than you think._  
“Is that my brother?” Beth asked sitting back down.  
“He and Gabe are in bible study.”  
“Probably open on Leviticus…loves to beat a dead horse, Theodore dear.”  
“...Beth?”  
“Mhm?” She said sipping the bottom of the glass loudly with her straw to get the waiter’s attention.  
“I do love Jack. I love him very much.” Angela began. Beth put down her glass and raised her eyebrows.  
“That is a “but” statement if I’ve ever heard one.”  
“…He loves Gabriel.”  
“I know.” Beth said, turning around in her seat. “Hey! Hello? Can we get service over here?” She yelled. Angela felt herself slump down in her seat a bit. A waitress came over at once and filled up Beth’s tea. “Right, anyway. I know. I don’t care.” She shrugged. “I knew from the first moment they walked into the house together that one Christmas. I mean Mom and Dad will probably always have their issues, they’re old. Rich is so easygoing, he won’t give a shit. Teddy is…Teddy and I don’t give a fuck. So, it’s up to Jack to do what he wants or needs to do.” She lit another cigarette and blew smoke out her nose.  
“I mean…I’m…with them too.” Angela began. She could see Beth’s eyes widen underneath her sunglasses with understanding. She pulled her sunglasses back onto the top of her head and looked at Angela. “That is just between me and you please.”  
“That’s something write home about.” She started. Angela pinched the bridge of her nose, rapidly wishing to take back the last 10 seconds. Beth laughed into her drink. “I won’t say a thing, of course. Haha, oh Angela. I promise I won’t say anything. Or even a wink.”  
\--  
_Gabe looked through the files again before checking the amount sitting on these marks’ heads. His finger tapped the steering wheel as he thought. 10 marks, owing more money than they are worth, better dead than alive and fucking up. He put the cigarette out in the old water bottle. He looked over his clothes before reaching back and pulling up his duffle bag to the passenger seat. He took out the mask, slipping it into the hoodie pocket. The sun had set in the small, mostly empty town, temperatures falling shortly after. It seemed like a waypoint for criminal activity. His boots crunched on the stony path into town. He threw his duffle bag over his shoulder and fixed the bandana covering most of his face._  
_He walked into the down before coming up to the bar and hotel that seemed to be where his marks were hiding out. He stepped in, raunchy country playing down the hall towards the bar. The older model Omnic looked up at him._  
_“A room?”_  
_“Yes.”_  
_“Cash only. We reserve the right to discriminate, Mr….” Gabe pulled out the wad of cash that he had on his person, placing it on the table. “Thank you for your patronage, sir.” The bot handed pushed a worn key card to him. Gabe nodded and headed upstairs. The room was bare bones, made up of an old single bed with a mattress thinner than the one he had in the back of the van, a table and chair covered in dust and graffiti, underneath that a small fridge hummed loudly with the AC. A TV, the newest thing in the room, sat above the equally filthy dresser. He put the duffle bag on the bed, unzipping it and pulling out his shotguns. He unwrapped from a black leather pouch, a phone sized glass square._  
_He put it down on the table next to graffiti that said “Frank loves nuts” crossed out to say “honey roasted, shithead”. He tapped his fingers on it as it lit up blue. It projected on the table a basic layout of the building, then on top of it, a more detailed layout. Soon figures appeared between the layouts, moving slowly as the instrument tracked them. He sat on the edge of the bed, turning on the TV low as he worked. Scandal, scandal, scandal, rumors of Overwatch’s return. He looked up, the media liked to play that views. He wasn’t always able to set up like this. A majority of the time, it was in, make the best of the space, kill, and get out. It wasn’t much different than Blackwatch work. He was the best they had, the absolute force to be reckoned with. The space felt nostalgic, down to the smell. He hated it, only wanting to clear his mind. He put on his older, ratty trench coat over his hoodie and looked over himself._  
_-_  
_He looked at the jukebox, flipping through the song catalogue in the neon glow. The bar was extraordinarily smoky, smelling of acrid mixes of dust, smoke, piss, and probably worse. Even with the bandana, he could smell very clearly. None of the patrons seemed worried about that, their glassy eyes glancing back at the towering man in black. At least 8 of his marks were in the room, several men had their faces covered or were passed out at the bar so he couldn’t tell. None of them were young, or all were so mixed up with heavy alcoholism and drugs that aged them into wizened, angry, trigger-happy old men. He glared behind the sunglasses he wore at those whose glances lasted too long. He walked over to the bar and the gruff looking man barely looked up at him. The man on the stool he stood near, drank from his mug slowly, eyeing him._  
_“Going to a funeral buddy….”_  
_“Might be.” Gabriel ordered, his voice grabbing the bartender’s attention. He took the mug and went back to the jukebox, finding a song that caught his attention from a time gone by. He took a sip after lifting the bandana. It tasted like watered down piss. He spat it back in the mug and put it on top of the jukebox. In a smaller pocket in his trench coat he slipped out several quarters. Three replays of the song…should be enough. The song started as he reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out his mask. He took off his sunglasses before slipping it on in a deft motion._  
_“What the fuck is this shi-“ One man started before thrown against a wall from the force of shotgun blast. He turned to the mark at the bar and threw the mug at him before unloading a shot through his back. The bartender reached up for a gun and was shot through, collapsing behind the bar. He felt a bullet strike his side, pain flaring at once and fading quickly as he turned around to the rest of the room, raising his gun. Three down…a man ran at him with a knife, meeting the barrels of the gun with his throat. He stepped over the man and took another shot in the chest. He growled and grabbed the arm of the man before twisting back as the man shot into the ceiling until Gabe heard a snap._  
_All my life, I’ve been looking for the magic_  
_I’ve been looking for the magic,_  
_Fantasize on a silly little tragic…_  
  
_Gabe stood over the bodies, as the song ended a third and final time before turning over to a country song. He took out his phone and took pictures of his marks._  
_He walked over to the bar, stepping behind it, watching as the barkeeper reached for the hidden gun in the propped open cabinet. Gabe stepped on his wrist and sunk down. He grabbed the man’s balding head, lifting up his head. He took a picture and sent it to his employer. The man seethed futilely, spraying blood on the mask, trying to still reach for the gun._  
_“Don’t…” He snarled, “Don’t even bother.” Gabe reached up under the mask and pulled off the bandana. He chuckled a bit, pulling up the mask. The man tried to pull his hand out from under Gabe’s boot, unable to look away in horror._  
_-_  
_He walked past the front desk with his duffle bag, noticing the Omnic was no longer there. He rolled his shoulders and headed through the door into the night. He walked through the empty town and wondered how long it would before it would be retaken by low-life criminals. He headed along curve of the road up to the hills where he hid his van, his face uncovered from his mask or the bandana. He took out his last cigarette and lit it, crushing the pack in his hand. He walked up to the van and looked up at sky, taking off his hood. He looked human for now, knowing it would eventually fade over the next few days._  
_He dropped the crushed pack on the gravel and opened the driver’s door, sitting halfway in. He smoked and reach to the back pulling out a water bottle and his medication. He took a long drink and looked at himself in the rearview mirror, touching the faded scars; enough to run his hand through. He opened the armrest console, taking a Twinkie from the stash he kept from Sombra. He popped the lock on the back doors of the van and got up, stopping suddenly as a scraggly looking kitten batted at crumbled pack. He slowly sat back down and watched the kitten smack the litter and arch its back defensively._  
_Gabe bent down and offered out his fingers to the kitten. It batted at him too and rolled-bounced away before disappearing under the van. He stood up and went to the back of the van where he hung his guns up on doors and took off his trench coat. In the distance he could see lights slipping through the hills. Company’s coming._  
\--  
“…so….you told me a secret. I think it’s only fair I tell you something too.” Beth said, driving to the bar. Angela sat in the passenger seat wearing her outfit, tying up her hair. Angela opened her mouth to protest, but Beth waved her away. “No, no. It’s fair. But this is between me and you.”  
“Alright. Between you and me.” Angela replied. Beth nodded to the song playing before looking over at the other woman.  
“I had a hysterectomy, nine months ago.” She spoke looking forward. “They found some malignant tumors in my uterus and my ovaries. They gave me lots of options, all with varying levels of remission. I felt safer, just taking the whole thing out, you know?” She pushed her hair behind her ear. Angela closed her mouth, watching her. “I haven’t told anyone, none of my siblings or even my mom. I mean I can now but it feels too late. I already told her everything was fine. I haven’t done chemo. If you wondered why I smoke so much weed that’s why.” She laughed an actual laugh. Angela put her hand on the woman’s arm as they pulled up to the crowded bar. “It’s been alright since, but lonely. I suppose that’s what I get for being stubborn. I’ve thought about telling Jack.”  
“…I’m sorry, Beth.” Angela started. Beth shook her head still smiling. “That you had to do that alone. Jack will understand and I’m sure the rest of the family will too. I will say nothing at all to anyone but I have many acquaintances in the field. I can put you in touch with them. Please…it is the least I can do.”  
“Thank you, Angela.” The woman reached across the console and hugged her. “Now, let’s get in there.”

While Jack had referred to the place as a bar, it was a bit bigger than that. Built in a somewhat semi-circle shape, there was a backyard stage under a large tree where Beth’s musician friends were setting up for the evening. In the back, there was an arcade with pinball machines and refurbished older games from before the turn of the century. Jack was talking with old classmates near the bar. Jack nodded to Angela and she walked over to his side. Jack’s hand went to her side automatically as they fielded questions as team. After what felt like very long time of being social, she slipped away from the bar to the arcade where Gabe played a fighting game as a scantily clad woman. Angela leaned in on Gabe and watched him unload some combos on an incredibly buff man. She smiled as he looked at her from the corner of his eye before turning to look at her.  
“…Angela.” He said slowly as she smiled a little.  
“Yes?” She looked down at the dress following his line of sight. She turned around once quickly. “Oh this…you like it? Beth picked it out. Actually…it was hers...”  
“Ang, you…” He said slowly as the game loudly announced his loss.  
“Hmm?”  
“Did that on purpose, didn’t you?”  
“Yep, scoot over.” She bumped him over and took over his restart.

The night progressed easily, lubricated by alcohol and loud folk music. Angela, being the only sober one, ended up driving back to the house, leaving Rich’s car at the bar to get when they were sober enough. Despite her drunken passengers talking and giving somewhat confusing directions, Angela was able to drive Richard to his house and then to the Morrison Family home with little issue. Beth held up a finger to her lips as they got out of the car and walked to the kitchen door.  
“Shh, stop being so loud. Army boys are like fuckin’ foghorns.” She whispered as Jack snickered into Gabe’s shoulder. “What are you even laughing at?” Jack shook his head, laughing still, “You don’t even know!” The automatic porch light turned on as Beth opened the door. They slipped into the house all at once, closing the door behind them, whispering loudly in the partly. Jack and Beth went into the kitchen with Gabe, talking about making some late-night snacks. Angela slipped away to the open archway of the dark living room, pulling her phone out of her purse. She checked her messages, quietly, smiling at the photos attached to them. A selfie of Ana in the hospital bed with Fareeha leaning in with floral filter. Another of Reinhardt with flowers for Ana and smile-y emojis. A message.  
_Ana: Must be having a good time, been so quiet._  
Angela stepped into the low hall light and did her best to take a selfie in her dress. She smiled at the picture a little. It felt a bit silly but she sent it anyway.  
“Talking to Ana?” Gabe said walking over to her, slight sway in his step.  
“Well…looking what she’s sent me over the last couple of days. Reinhardt went to go see her in the hospital.” She showed him the picture. “I think he has feelings for our sniper.” She sent a message back, not expecting a response until later.  
“I think everyone has feelings for our sniper.” He chuckled. She looked up from under her bangs and smiled slowly. He pointed, catching her.  
_Angela: Ana, I’m sorry I haven’t been able to contact you. It’s been rather busy here. You seem to be doing well. I’m glad and I’ll talk to you soon._  
“Angela…” He whispered. Gabe leaned in against her, his hands on her hips. She lifted her chin up as his lips pressed against hers. She kissed back, getting up on her toes, as she raised her hand to his jaw.  
“You are quite drunk, Gabe. You and Jack should go to bed.” She replied, her voice low. He chuckled just a bit.  
“I’m sober enough to know I want you, Angela.” He leaned against her, his lips against her neck. She hummed a bit at the attention, touching his chest. She dropped her phone in her purse, freeing her other hand.  
“Shh…” She looked behind him down the hall. “Reyes.” She giggled as he lifted her skirt. “Gabriel…” She touched his hands as he rested his forehead on her shoulder. Suddenly the light of the living room went up, causing them to jump. They both turned, hearts racing, to see Teddy standing there next to light switch.  
“Teddy…” Gabe started, moving his hands from Angela. He was already heading down the hall to the kitchen. Gabe followed with Angela as best he could drunk. Jack and Beth were at the table, Beth was rolling a joint as Jack suggested things they could make for breakfast.  
“Jack.” Teddy had already started.  
“Jack!” Gabe cut in. Jack and Beth looked to the doorway. Gabe took Angela’s hand and pushed past Teddy.  
“Did you know your girlfriend is an adulteress?”  
“A what?” Jack asked, taking a sip of his water.  
“She’s cheating on you. I just caught them making out. The room over.” Teddy snipped. Jack looked to Gabe and Angela as they looked at him anxiously. “Here I was worried about you with Gabe but instead-…”  
“Teddy…” Beth said, interrupting him. Teddy glared as raised her hand to licked the paper and then lit the joint. She inhaled and passed it to Jack. “Theodore…what’s her name? The one you’ve been helping with bible study two towns over.” The man’s face paled as she went on. “It’s interesting who reaches out to me, once they know who I am.”  
“Beth!”  
“Goodnight, Teddy.” She took back the joint for Jack who watched her smoke. Teddy’s nostrils flared as his face reddened. Beth smiled at him raising her middle finger at him. “Goodnight, Teddy, I said.” He turned, fuming. The front door slammed, shaking the frame of the house. “So breakfast?”  
“Beth?” Jack finally wheezed out.  
“Holy shit, Beth.” Gabe started laughing but slowed his roll after a second. “Wait…we...”  
“You are all terrible actors, I know what’s up. Take an acting class.” Beth sighed. Her eyes went to Angela, smiling slightly.  
\--  
_Reaper entered the base, music playing softly through the building. He entered Sombra’s space, seeing them asleep in their chair and looked up at their screens where several different news stations played and files uploaded. He put his phone down on the desk after wiping away some of the crumbs off food. The kitten sleeping in in his hoodie stirred as he flipped through the screens with his middle finger, looking for something. The kitten got up on his shoulder, stretching, digging its pinprick claws into him. He didn’t flinch, instead pulling the paused video to his phone, where a holoscreen lifted up and a loading timer started. He picked up the cat and put it on Sombra’s lap. They stirred briefly but stayed asleep. He took the phone once the video was copied on it._  
_He walked into the lounge room and sat down on the couch looking at the phone for a long time before resuming the video._  
_The next shot of Angela was sitting in her chair, smoking with her good hand, sprayed with droplets of blood. She reached over and turned the camera some to show her arm decaying on an opposite table. It was hooked up to an IV and blood bag, plastic tubing keeping the blood circulating._  
_“Dr. Lee’s virus is effective…terrifyingly so.” She spoke, her voice quiet and shaking. I…used the anti-viral on it, it’s slow to stop it.” Above the arm, the golden glow of bio nanites were working on it as well. “It seems the bionanites work a bit faster, cutting off the spread in conjunction with the anti-viral.” She looked at it for what seemed to be a long time. “Is it clear, TX?”_  
_“98.555% affected areas quarantined and replaced with new cellular structure. Shall we begin reattachment process.”_  
_“Gut…yes. Run outline.” She murmured as a golden outline of her arm appeared over her stump, highly detailed in the inner workings of vein, bone, and muscle. Several mechanical arms with claw limbs extended from the ceiling as picking up the healing arm. She leaned back as she took off the clamp with a wince. The arm was brought into alignment in the outline against the stump. She put the cigarette out and picked up the small handheld pen-looking tool. While she worked on reattaching and healing the amputation as clawed extensions rotated into several more pen-looking devices, hand-held caduceus copies, worked on closing the wounds. She barely reacted but he could see her eyes watering, tears dripping down to her chin. The video went dark for a few moments._  
_Angela returned on the screen, doing tests on the hand she had so recently reattached. He hair was up and her face was clean but he could still see small stains on her white top. She looked up again at the camera, her eyes tired and reddish. She raised her arm and tightened her hand into a fist several times. She smiled, slowly and smugly before reaching over and turning camera off._  
_\--_  
_Gabe put the phone down on the couch cushion beside him and leaned forward, his brow knitted and jaw set in his hands. His hand around her neck. So easy…so many times it could have been easy. When he raged, when his wounds were fresh, when the bitterness lingered like tar in his veins. He closed his eyes, already smoke billowing from his lips. He reached up and pulled his hoodie over his head before covering his face and bit into his hand._  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience.  
> I'm glad I stepped away from this for a while but I lot more glad to be back.  
> I listened to a lot of First Aid Kit, Santigold, and dark synthwave while writing this.   
> "Looking for the Magic" by the Dwlight Twiley Band.  
> Comments are welcomed and loved and cherished. Thanks.


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